Accidental Intruder
by StarTrekFanWriter
Summary: The crew return to Camus II in the new timeline.  Body swapping...but this time around Jim and Spock switch bodies.  K & S & U & K.  S/U pairing.  Angst and humor - in almost equal measure.  Now complete!
1. Appreciation

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. Check out her latest, very lyrical "What We Think We Know."

**Appreciation**

Lieutenant Uhura had a nice ass. This wasn't a revelation; but Jim rarely had the opportunity to appreciate the fact. For professional reasons Jim worked hard to stifle his reactions to beautiful women while on duty - well, mostly. He might smile a bit too broadly when Rand turned around after bending over a console, or flutter his eyelashes at Chapel when she gave him a hypo - but hey, no reason not to be _friendly_. However, with Uhura there were other reasons to keep himself in check on and off the clock. Jim didn't want to damage his fledgling relationship with her husband and his first officer, Commander Spock.

In fact, Uhura was with Spock now as they walked ahead in the same direction Jim was going at 07:30 local planet time. But they hadn't seen him yet, which meant if Jim could just be quiet he could continue to admire the way her strides accentuated the curves of her -

"Captain," said his XO, pivoting mid-stride, turning to face him, and straightening to attention.

Damn Vulcan hearing.

Uhura turned as well, prim and proper, PADD in hand. A hint of a suppressed smile was on her face as she stood at attention. They were on much better terms now than at the Academy.

Jim waved with his hand to put them at ease, trying to look groggy and slightly sleepy. He didn't want them to get suspicious as to why he hadn't announced himself immediately.

"Would you care to you join us?" said Spock.

"Yeah, yeah," said Jim falling into step with them.

"This is so exciting, Captain," Uhura said, much too poised this early in the morning. "I can't wait to get down to Camus II and see the Rosetta Stone Dr. Lester has discovered. A long dead language - fantastic!"

'The Rosetta Stone' was what Starfleet was calling a pillar that had both ancient Cardassian and the language of the ancient Camus denizens on it. It was the reason the Enterprise was here. The stone had been degraded over time, and Spock was going to use the Enterprise's state of the art science facilities to recover the ancient script. Also, the linguist in the Camus II team, Dr. Coleman, was not well versed in ancient Cardassian. Fortunately, Uhura was.

"Mmmm..." said Jim. "I can't wait to see Dr. Lester. She was hot when we were at the Academy - in both timelines." But in the other timeline Jim and Dr. Lester had been...well, passionate—intellectually, physically, and emotionally. They'd almost gotten married.

Jim knew the details of his other self's relationship with Janice - Dr. Lester. Spock the elder had melded with Jim just after the destruction of Vulcan. The emotionally compromised Vulcan had botched the meld - Jim was left with all of the Elder Spock's memories, which included the memories of his other self.

Uhura rolled her eyes. "But in this timeline she had the sense not to get involved with you during your student days."

"Hey," said Jim acting affronted, "in this timeline she dropped out of the command track and went into the sciences only a few days after my first semester. It would only have been a matter of time. Time I may well now have."

Nyota let out a small huff. Jim smiled brightly.

Raising an eyebrow, Spock said, "May I remind you, that according to your own account she tried to kill you in the other timeline."

In fact she had tried to kill Jim and had killed her entire research team, except for Coleman.

Jim was undeterred. "Oh, Spock, don't be illogical," Jim said. "That was the other timeline. She was bitter in that universe because women couldn't be captains-"

"The other universe was so messed up," said Uhura.

"But in this universe she left the command track herself much earlier," said Jim. "And her discovery of ruins on Camus II is much earlier as well. She's more accomplished in this universe than the other. Don't you think the psychology behind that is _fascinating_, Spock?"

Spock blinked. Jim winked at him, knowing the Vulcan was probably a bit befuddled. Despite his brilliance, Spock did not have an intuitive understanding of human psychology.

Stepping forward as they approached the turbolift, Uhura pressed the call button. "It is interesting, Captain. Without the compulsion of misogyny, she chose the same path anyway but has been much more successful. It shows just how injustice can really warp people - and keep them from their full potential."

Stepping into the lift and pressing the code for the transporter room, Jim said, "Precisely, and in this universe she might not be space-bat-skat crazy."

"Hmmm..." said Spock tilting his head.

"And therefore may have nothing to do with you," said Uhura with a smirk.

Tilting his head, Jim gave her a tight half smile. "I assure you, in our very brief acquaintance at the Academy, I still managed to make an impression."

The half-Vulcan's lips quirked upwards. "Considering your behavior during your Academic years, Captain, that might not be an advantage."

"Ha, ha, Spock," Jim said without smiling; but inwardly he _was_ smiling. His first officer was joking with him. They were still a long way off from the friendship he'd shared with the other Spock, but the potential was clearly there. After being in the elder Spock's mind, Jim craved that friendship. He wanted the same camaraderie, the same belonging.

Fifteen minutes later they were on the surface of Camus II. Dr. Lester and Dr. Coleman were there to greet them.

In this timeline Janice wasn't wearing her hair in a dowdy style like the last. Instead, she wore a sleek pixie cut. It wasn't precisely sexy, it was adorable...which was sexy in its own way, in Jim's opinion. Instead of a dress she wore a practical, yet fitted, body suit that didn't hide her toned body or pert chest and looked ideal for excavating ruins. A woman who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, Jim surmised. Nice.

Dr. Coleman looked as Jim remembered him. Which was to say, creepy. In the other timeline he'd been involved with Janice, too, and had conspired with her to help her switch bodies with Jim. It was a shame Jim's memories of being inside Janice's body were so vague. He really wished he could have memories of having those breasts to appreciate -

Shaking his head at the thought, Jim stepped forward. It had been years since he'd seen her in that one class. But she was just as beautiful as he remembered.

Offering his hand he smiled. "Dr. Janice Lester, so nice to see you again."

Was it his imagination or did Dr. Coleman scowl?

Tilting her head, Janice furrowed her brow slightly. "I'm sorry, you must be Captain Kirk. Have we met?"

Jim couldn't see, but he could feel Uhura smirking behind him. His eyes instead went to Coleman. The man was definitely smiling.

**A/N:** Yes, it's been a while. I had a baby girl – just to make my four year old son's life miserable. Or that's what he'd tell you. He hasn't committed infanticide yet, so I think things are going relatively well.

More on Jim and his botched mind meld with Spock!Prime in "How the Mighty Have Fallen"

Reviews are love. If you enjoyed please let me know.


	2. Lunch Dates

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Notes from the Classroom for playing beta, and offering me sympathy during late nights with no sleep. Check out her latest, "What we Think We Know" in my faves.

**Lunch Dates**

After the tour of the main site, Jim, his communications officer, and his XO sat in the camp's main porta shelter. The space had been set up as a reception area of sorts. The research team had laid out a spread of tea, coffee and snacks for them just before Coleman had announced that some important readings had been completed in a new chamber they'd uncovered. The researchers dispersed to see the results and left Jim and his team alone for a few moments.

"Spock," Jim said, "are we being listened in on?"

Raising an eyebrow, Spock took out his tricorder and scanned the small room they were in. "Negative, Captain. This location is not being monitored."

"Dr. Lester doesn't seem space-bat-skat crazy in this timeline," said Uhura, crossing the elegant legs Jim was trying hard not look at, and settling back into her chair with a mug of tea. "I like her. Dr. Coleman is..."

She took a sip of her tea and scowled but didn't finish the thought aloud.

Her husband and bond-mate did for her. "It is illogical to believe that his behavior in this timeline will in anyway resemble his behavior in the other," Spock said.

The scowl on Uhura's features deepened. "No, but I still thought he was kind of creepy. He was so ...fawning. Reminding me how much more advanced my linguist skills were over and over, saying how glad we were here..."

"Your language skills are far superior to his," said Spock, sitting stiffly erect as always.

"I know but..." she tilted her head.

"But?" said Spock.

"But he overdid it," said Jim, spawling back in his chair and looking into his own mug of coffee. Dr. Coleman might not be a criminal in this timeline, but he was definitely _odd. _

"Yes," said Uhura. She huffed a soft laugh. "And even if you don't have a snowball's chance in Hell with Janice -"

"Hey, just give me a little more time," said Jim. Actually, Janice had seemed completely unimpressed by him. If she held his position of captain of the Federation's flagship in any regard, she hid it _really_ well, which actually made Jim like her more. He liked smart women.

Rolling her eyes, Uhura said, "Yeah, right, but the way he ran to get between you or Spock whenever you were next to her was just..." She shivered.

"Maybe they are a couple?" said Spock.

Jim looked at his first. If you ever got a chance to see inside the Vulcan psyche - which Jim had, you learned how poorly they read body language and the nuances in human tone. Spock hadn't heard the _artificial_ servility in Coleman's voice. Nor could he see how quietly frantic Coleman seemed to be whenever he wedged himself between Lester and any other male in the vicinity.

"No," said Jim. "They're not. He just wants to be."

"The Captain's right," said Uhura. "And it's creepy...and I get to work with him." She shook her head and looked at Spock. "I'm glad you'll be with me."

Spock tilted his head.

Jim laughed, "I've seen you in battle and barfights, Uhura. Coleman wouldn't stand a chance."

Uhura's face got stern. "No, he wouldn't. But I'd rather not have to deal with that sort of crap."

"I would rather you not have to either," Spock said in a low tone. His features remained impassive, his posture did not change; but the other thing you learned about Vulcans if you peeked inside their minds was how fiercely territorial and protective they were. Jim was certain who would come out the loser in a confrontation between Coleman and Spock. He rubbed his neck absently. Of course, being on the receiving end of that fierce protectiveness wasn't always bad. Memories of the other Spock's life flickered in his mind.

Interrupting his thoughts, Uhura said, "Captain, I'd say we should stay five kilometers away from the body swapping room. With Coleman around...I don't know, you can never tell with the insane -"

Jim stood up and stretched. "Well, that at least isn't a worry."

"Why not?" said Spock.

Shrugging, Jim said, "Because they haven't found it. Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, they're digging in the completely wrong spot."

He smiled at Uhura. "Which is actually kind of a shame. Swapping bodies by accident with Lester wasn't a pleasant experience. But if we were intimate - which we will be, and we swapped, that could be..." Jim raised his eyebrows three times in rapid succession and winked.

Uhura's brow furrowed; her lip curled up slightly. "You want to have sex with yourself?"

As captain, Jim scrupulously avoided entanglements with his crew. Consequently, he had a lot of experience having sex with himself. Swapping bodies seemed like a lot more interesting way to go about it, and a lot less pathetic. He wasn't going to bring this up, though.

Grinning at her evident distaste he said, "Why not? I'm a pretty good looking guy."

Winking, he added, "I think it would be an awesome. I mean, I'm good in bed already, but if I had a chance to try it in a woman's body - I'd be completely irresistible."

"Plus," he said, pretending to study his coffee but finding it impossible to keep the grin off his face. "I'd get to have breasts. It would be a _fascinating_ experiment."

Over the edge of his cup he saw Uhura's eyes roll. He stole a covert glance at Spock over the edge of his mug. The Vulcan looked...thoughtful.

Gotcha.

"What?" said Jim. "I bet you ten to one Spock's thinking exactly the same thing about you and him."

Uhura's head snapped in the direction of her husband. To Jim's immense pride and great joy, the half-Vulcan's ears went completely green.

X X X X X

Spock shielded his eyes from the bright light and said, ".75 degrees to the left Mr. Scott."

He heard an, "Aye, Sir."

The light went off and for a moment Spock's vision went black. He reached instinctively to the railing. He was 15 meters above the ground on scaffolding Mr. Scott and he had erected around the Rosetta Stone pillar. The pillar itself was 20.3 meters tall. Standing motionless in temporary blindness, his concentration wandered for a minute. He heard Coleman talking to Nyota.

"Some of the pillar was legible. Here. I believe that this is reference to a mind controlling device,"

Spock tilted his head, and heard Nyota respond, "I think you are interpreting the 'control' incorrectly, Dr. Coleman. In this context I believe it refers to 'changing'."

Spock heard the smile in Coleman's voice as he replied, "Well, you're the expert, Lieutenant Uhura."

Blinking as his vision returned, Spock wondered why Coleman was smiling at the correction. Perhaps a dedication to the discovery of truth made him more logical in his acceptance of criticisms? Of course, the Captain and Nyota didn't believe humility was one of Coleman's attributes. Very odd -

"Mr. Spock, how is this?" Scotty called.

Blinking again, Spock pulled out a tricorder and calibrated the new angle. "Perfect, Mr. Scott. I will begin aligning the scanner on this side. Will you see to the one above?"

"Sounds like a plan, sir," said Scotty.

The pillar was now under a large tent shielded from the elements - it had been exposed for almost a millennium. Without careful scrutiny its surface looked nearly smooth. But if one looked very closely the shallow indentations of writing could be seen. Spock and Scott had set up scanners at different angles around the pillar. Each would cast a slightly different light on the shallow etchings. Recording the different shadows and then feeding them into a computer would allow Spock and Scott to reconstruct the writing. It was an ancient yet elegant technique developed in the 21st century on Earth.

Spock made his way to the next scanner and knelt down. The technique's success did hinge on very precise calibration of the scanners. Reading levels on his tricorder, with one hand he reached out with his hand to swivel the light - and stopped.

For a moment Spock thought that he was experiencing a small seismic event. But then he realized the shaking of the scaffolding was too regular. He cocked his head. Needlessly thunderous footsteps from below were upsetting the scaffolding and his scanner. It was unVulcan to sigh, but it still took some effort for Spock to restrain himself. He prepared to stand up.

"No need to salute me, Spock."

"Yes, Captain," said Spock, reading the measurements on his tricorder again. It appeared the Captain _had_ shaken the scaffolding enough to change the scanner's angle. Spock suppressed another sigh.

"This is granite - and most of the other ruins, too, right Spock?"

"Yes, Captain," Spock said still kneeling, eyes on the scanner. Hopefully none of the delicate instruments inside the scanner had been shaken.

"We have sensors on our ship that can detect granite, right?" the Captain asked.

Not bothering to look at the Captain, Spock replied, "Yes, the technology is very simple and -"

"But our scanners can detect shapes in granite that appear to be made by non-natural means - and that isn't simple technology, is it?"

"That technology was just added to the Enterprise's sensors on our last shore leave. It is a prototype, and I do not believe that exists anywhere but on our ship and in New Vulcan's flag -"

A hand fell heavily on his shoulder. Spock raised an eyebrow and stared at it. He knew this was a gesture of camaraderie, but its exact meaning depended on the context. This could be 'thank you' or possibly, 'well done.' Vulcans were uncomfortable with ambiguity, not to mention physical contact. The captain was aware of Spock's discomfort with physical contact…perhaps he was teasing? Or just as likely he had just forgotten himself.

"Great, see ya!" said Jim.

The scaffolding and the scanner in front of Spock shook as Jim _hopped _down the stairs. Looking at his tricorder, Spock saw just how much Jim Kirk's inexplicable...curiosity...had misaligned the scanner. The human was like a small earthquake. Spock repressed another sigh.

x x x x

Whether or not to use the information gleaned from the elder Spock's emergence in Jim's own timeline for the betterment of the galaxy was a matter of some philosophical debate at Starfleet, even when lives were on the line. To use such knowledge for personal gain was not debated. The philosophers were all of the opinion the answer was 'No.'

Jim was not a philosopher.

Loading the data from the Enterprise's prototype sensor into his PADD, he headed for the transporter room.

It was almost noon when he arrived on the surface among the temporary shelters of the researchers' main camp. Like so many planets they visited. it looked nearly like sunset. The sky was an almost unnatural pink, and Camus II seemed to be made up of the same dreary gray moon rock with sparse plants they encountered everywhere, like a set from a bad holoadventure.

Jim nodded at a few researchers heading towards the main shelter - probably for lunch. He looked at the shelter that contained the offices. Janice's light was on. He headed in that direction.

Opening the door to the office area, Jim found himself in a poorly lit hallway. Janice's door was open. He heard Coleman's voice.

"Shall we go to lunch, Dr. Lester?"

Memories of another life tickled Jim's mind. There was a chance Uhura and he were wrong about the relationship between the good doctors. Jim paused his steps and carefully closed the door behind him, hoping he hadn't been heard.

"No, thank you, Dr. Coleman," said Janice.

"You really should call me, Arthur," said Coleman. There was a silence that stretched too long.

Or maybe they really weren't close in this universe.

"Would you like me to bring you something from the cafeteria?" Coleman said.

"No, that's really alright," said Janice. She sounded...tired and a bit on edge.

"Really, it's no trouble," said Coleman. Man, the guy was tripping all over to ingratiate himself to her. Jim shook his head.

"Dr. Coleman, I'm fine," said Janice, a note of iron in her voice.

"Well, perhaps we could meet for dinner then?" said Coleman.

Okay, this was painful. She couldn't possibly enjoy dealing with this sopping wet dishrag of a man, could she?

One way to find out. Striding into Janice's office, he gave Coleman, standing in the center of the room, a smile and tapped his PADD. "Dr. Lester, I got those scans you wanted from the Enterprise's prototype sensor."

"Scans?" said Dr. Lester sitting behind a desk.

The moment of truth. Jim had not discussed with her the scans he had done. Would she take the lifeline he was offering?

"Oh, _those_ scans," said Dr. Lester.

Yep. She would take the lifeline. No love lost between these two.

"Dr. Coleman, you must excuse us," Janice said. "Captain Kirk and I must review his scans of -" she looked over at Jim.

"Potentially non-natural granite formations in the vicinity," said Jim. He wasn't leading her to the body swapping room...just another area with more ruins he'd remembered from his mind meld with the other Spock.

Janice straightened, "Ah, yes, non-natural granite formations...Dr. Coleman, please excuse us." She gestured towards the door.

Coleman backed out. "I'll see you -"

"I'm not sure when I'll be done here," said Janice, "Shut the door, please, would you?"

Coleman obediently shut the door, looking none-too-happy, Jim noticed.

As soon as he was gone, Janice said, "The scans, are they for real?"

"Yes," said Jim with a grin.

"Well, give them here!" Janice said, standing up and eying the PADD. Jim cocked his head. Not so much as a thank you. He felt his smile melt. This wasn't going as well as he thought.

He handed her the PADD nonetheless. She flicked through a few screens. "I'd heard this technology existed," she shook her head and licked her lips. "This is only a few clicks from here." Looking up sharply at him, she said, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Jim blinked at her bright blue eyes. "No, I -"

Gazing down at the PADD, brow furrowing, she said, "If you don't mind energy bars and water rations, we can hike out to here..." She pointed at the PADD, "and eat something there."

Jim smiled. Or maybe this was going even better than he expected.

**A/N:**

Some have asked how I can keep writing...well, I click out a graph at a time here and there...and, heck, it's not like I'm sleeping anyway.

** Sister, can you spare some time? Reviews help keep me going! **


	3. The Unexpected

**Disclaimer:** I don't own. I don't profit.

Special thanks to my Beta Notes from the Classroom for all the encouragement she's given in this time (I am pretty tired), and for betaing. Check out her latest (and probably greatest) fic in my faves "What We Think We Know".

**The Unexpected**

Had Jim expected a thank you? Idle chit chat? Had he dared even imagine..._flirting?_

Jim stepped off a boulder.

Beside him Janice leaped off the same rock. Without meeting his eye she said, "Make sure when we cross any obstacles that you put a good .75 meters between you and the object. There's a type of venomous lizard that lives in dark crevices here. Its first instinct is to bite when startled, and it is lethal in 3 minutes. I have a kit, but I might not be fast enough to save you."

"Oh," said Jim. "Thanks for the warning. I had no idea Camus II was so dangerous."

"That's why I brought you along," said Janice. "Hiking alone here is suicidal."

Jim did not sigh. Did this woman have no consideration for his fragile ego? He pitied himself for all of thirty seconds, then took a deep breath of non-recycled air. "Thanks for inviting me. I love my ship, but it's really good to get off occasionally and stretch my legs."

And it was.

"It's nice occasionally to get away from the stresses of command," he added. He was off duty, with a beautiful non-crew member, who might not be interested in him but was still interesting, and nice eye candy; he could fuck up and make a fool of himself without lasting repercussions. He almost smiled at the thought.

From the corner of his eye he saw Janice's gaze on him, but when he turned his head she immediately looked away.

"Yes," she said picking up the pace. Jim quickened his strides and was soon too breathless for any idle chit-chat.

When they came to the spot Janice had pointed to on the PADD, his lungs were burning pleasantly and he was just beginning to feel the prickle of sweat in the cool air. They were on a bluff about 2 kilometers from the main camp. Wind ruffled Jim's hair as he turned away from the camp buildings below and instead turned to the bubble gum pink sun. He was light years from Iowa, and the moment was perfect.

He surveyed the top of the bluff. There were some nondescript rocks strewn about. Nothing dramatic like the top of a turret sticking up through the ground, but Janice didn't look disappointed. In fact, at that moment she was using her hands to brush away some small stones from a larger boulder about .5 meters long by .25 meters wide that almost looked like -

"Is that one of the large blocks they used to build their main buildings?" Jim asked.

Brow furrowed in concentration and almost smiling, Janice said, "Yes, I think it is. It's been pretty worn down, but look -" She dug quickly and carefully around the bottom edge, seemed to find what she was looking for, and then dug up some loose earth. "Come here," she said.

Jim came over and looked over her shoulder. As she brushed away the earth with her hands, another flat stone emerged. Kneeling down Jim applied his hands to the same spot. "Let me know if I'm doing it wrong," he said.

Janice looked up and did smile. "You can't do this part wrong."

Before long they'd pulled back the ground enough to see that it was indeed a building block beneath the exposed 'boulder.' Wiping her hands, Janice climbed up onto the first rock and laughed. "This is fantastic!"

Jim stood up and wiped his own hands. He didn't go to the boulder where she was sitting. Instead, he sat down on a boulder a few feet away. It was deliberate. He had too much pride to intrude on her personal space - let Coleman be the one to do that.

After a moment Janice said, "Thank you."

Jim tilted his head.

"For the scans," said Janice. She looked down, "And for everything. Helping me get Coleman out of my office."

Jim shrugged, "It was no problem."

Janice began unpacking her lunch; Jim did the same. To make conversation he said, "So you were on the command track."

Nodding, Janice said, "Yes, but I discovered that wasn't my true calling. I was just doing it to prove something. My real love is archeology and alien civilizations." Unwrapping a protein bar she said, "Up until a little while ago I would have said my time on the command track wasn't wasted. It seemed like a great help when I started leading the research team."

"Up until a while ago?" asked Jim, unwrapping a protein bar of his own.

Janice looked down. "I have trouble with Coleman. He just...doesn't quite cross the line."

"It's hard to have someone dismissed for having an inconvenient 'crush'," Jim said. "And unlike me, you can't have their duties reassigned so they don't come in contact with you often." The camp on Camus II was too small. Everyone was on top of each other.

"Yes," said Janice. She sighed and took a bite of her protein bar.

Jim added, "It's a bad business getting involved with crew members. I don't do it either. It complicates everything."

Janice raised an eyebrow, took a swig of water, and then said, "You know, you don't really fit your reputation."

"My reputation?" said Jim.

"Yes..." said Janice. She looked away.

"Oh, come on, if you start like that, you have to finish," said Jim, guessing what she might say.

Janice looked away. "Well, you know, the brash cadet who got his captaincy from a publicity stunt."

"That part is true," said Jim.

Janice looked at him, eyes wide.

Shrugging, Jim said, "I was not qualified to be captain. It was a publicity stunt. I was supposed to make the people of Earth feel safer doing much publicized feel-good milk runs. But, some of the milk runs didn't go as expected..."

"You've accomplished a lot as captain," said Janice. "I have heard things -"

There were a lot of things the Enterprise crew had accomplished. A lot of those things Jim wasn't allowed to talk about. Instead he said, "I have the best crew in the fleet."

Janice smiled. "And that doesn't fit the rumor of an ego as large as the galaxy."

Laughing, Jim said, "As big as a galaxy; come on! The size of a small solar system, _maybe_…"

Janice laughed softly.

Jim winked, "Okay, maybe a _large_ solar system."

She laughed a little louder and Jim smiled. He was enjoying the conversation. He liked her before but liked her even more now that she showed she had the guts to talk about his 'reputation.' "Okay," he said, "What else do they say about me?"

Janice tilted her head. "They say that you're a womanizer."

Jim's smile vanished. "Okay, that isn't funny. I don't like the word 'womanizer.' It implies someone who takes shameless advantage of women. I don't like it. It's true, I do enjoy the company of women - and all that implies, but I do not take advantage of that company. Or at least, only so much as they take advantage of me."

"You've had a few affairs that have been quite public -"

"If you're talking about the Romulan ambassador, it was all in the line of duty, well, mostly. And the story about the Trill Admiral is _completely_ made up."

Blinking, Janice said, "Really?"

Jim sighed. "Yes, sadly. We are good friends, though."

"So," said Janice, "not a womanizer then, but perhaps a playboy."

"Playboy?" said Jim taking a bite of his protein bar.

"Lots of women, but nothing underhanded. It's probably a sensible arrangement. You _are_ a captain. Relations with crew members are difficult - and your mission has you gone for months at a time. Not the most optimal conditions for a long term relationship."

"No," said Jim, "it's not."

"I'm in a similar situation," said Janice.

Trying not to look like his ears had just perked up, Jim said, "I don't know if I like the word playboy, though."

"But I like playboys," Janice said. "They aren't hurt that I can't commit. As long as they are honest and don't make any insincere promises of babies and marriage, they make wonderful..." she tilted her head and looked at the ground. "Company."

"Janice," said Jim with a smile, "I will never promise you babies or marriage."

Janice looked up at him and laughed.

Jim grinned. This was way better than flirting. He _really_ liked this woman.

x x x x

They didn't have sex on the bluff. They _did _make out like teenagers, though. And they continued to make out along the trail to camp - carefully out of the range of venomous lizards. Consequently it was almost dusk when Jim dropped her and his PADDs off at her office.

They didn't have sex there either. But they wound up on the floor under Janice's desk laughing in various stages of undress. Jim was nibbling on her chin when his comm alarm chimed.

"Crap," he said. "My off duty time is ending. I have to round up Spock and Uhura for a briefing on today's findings."

Kissing his cheek, Janice said, "I understand - as long as I get to see you every day until you leave."

Jim pushed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply. Pulling back, he said, "I will find some way to make it so."

His comm alarm chimed again.

"Go, go!" said Janice with a smile, pushing him away with her hands. Jim stumbled awkwardly to his feet and pulled her up next to him. He kissed her again with a smile. She pushed at him and slapped him gently. "No man of mine, no matter how temporary, is a slacker. Attend to duty, Captain!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Jim stepping back with a smile.

A few kisses later he was out the door and off to find Uhura and Spock. Uhura's comm placed her closer, in the new room that was just discovered. That was odd, but he made his way there anyway.

In the evening darkness he could see light spilling out of the chamber. Walking in he called, "Uhura -" The room appeared empty. Throughout the room at various angles were walls like two way honeycombs. Within the honeycomb walls were seemingly decorative crystals as long as his hand and a few fingers' breadth wide. His lieutenant could be behind one.

"Uhura?" Jim said again, this time louder. He entered her comm number. From around one of the strange barriers he heard her comm chime. Walking around the honeycomb he saw it beneath a workbench. Kneeling down, Jim picked it up. It wasn't like Uhura to forget anything...

Standing up he turned around and found himself face to face with Dr. Coleman. The man smiled and moved something in his hand. Jim's world went black.

**A/N:**

Love your reviews - they're great to read when I'm jiggling and swaddling and shushing a cranky baby at midnight.


	4. And This Would Be

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta "Notes from the Classroom". Check out her latest "What We Think We Know" in my faves. I think it is her best yet (and that is saying something).

**And This Would Be...**

It was time to rendezvous with Nyota and Captain Kirk. Spock made his way from the tent where the pillar was housed towards the little porta-shelter with the reception area. He knew Nyota was waiting for him there - she'd misplaced her comm, but she'd communicated her locale through their bond. Spock had located her comm with his own; it was in the new chamber that had just recently been discovered. He was passing by in that direction to pick it up.

As that thought flicked through Spock's consciousness, he felt Nyota in his mind. _I can't believe I lost it like that. _His stomach welled up with anxiety that was hers, not his.

Spock felt his lips quirk up in a half smile.

_It's not funny! _Nyota's mental presence said.

_No, it is not 'funny' that you misplaced your comm_, Spock thought back, _But it is..._peculiar_ that you find misplacing your comm more anxiety causing than our last battle with Klingons._

_That was life or death, _Nyota responded. _This is stress. I'm too young to be losing my mind._

_I do not believe you are in any danger of -_

"Uhura -"

It was the Captain's voice. Spock looked ahead to see the Captain duck into the new chamber. He must have caught Nyota's comm signal and thought she was there. Spock quickened his pace and headed towards the open door.

"Uhura?" said the Captain again.

Entering the room, Spock instantly knew something was amiss. His sensitive ears detected two people in the room - it was odd the other wasn't responding to Jim's calls. He instinctively transmitted his unease to his bond-mate and felt her anxiety disappear and the same cold level-headedness that always overcame her in dangerous situations reappear.

Heading in Jim's direction, Spock rounded a wall of the seemingly decorative hexagonal chambers filled with elongated crystals. He was about to call out when he saw Dr. Coleman sliding one of the crystals into what looked like a piece of one of the barriers in his hand.

Spock's vision went black, as though he'd stared into a bright light that had suddenly been withdrawn, and he felt himself go light-headed. The next thing he knew he was blinking up at the ceiling and there was a splitting pain in the back of his head. He tried to access his internal clock and found he could not - the injury to his head...He'd worry about it later. Lifting his body, he found himself face to face with a scowling Dr. Coleman still holding onto the crystal in its honeycomb sheath.

"You will listen to me, now," Dr. Coleman said.

Spock staggered to his feet and barreled towards the man. He felt light and weak, and although his body contacted the doctor's, the man, hardly an athlete, barely budged. Instead Coleman raised a fist that came in contact with Spock's jaw before he could dodge it. Reeling back, Spock managed to grab the human's shoulder and apply a nerve pinch. Nothing happened.

He stared at Coleman in confusion. Coleman pushed him backwards, fumbled at his belt, pulled out a phaser and clicked off the safety.

Spock froze. The sickening sound of breaking bone filled his ears. Coleman's head fell back and his body sank to the ground, phaser in one hand, honeycomb and crystal in the other. Before Spock had a chance to fully process what was happening, the crystal slipped from its sheath and shattered. Spock looked up.

Nyota stood in the space behind the human man, brandishing what looked like a stake from the tent they'd built above the pillar. Her eyes met his. "Jim," she said, eyes wide and worried. "What's happened to Spock?"

"Nyota," Spock said feeling his brow ripple in confusion, "It's me." Even as he said it, he knew something was wrong: his voice, the way his face contorted so easily, the bond -

He tried to reach it and found it wasn't there. He took a few choppy deep breaths. Nyota was under one of his arms an instant later, supporting and guiding him towards the door. "You've been hurt, Captain - Jim, Spock's worse."

Turning his head to her, he said, "No, I'm-" and stopped. A groaning noise caught his ears. He shifted his eyes to the floor in front of them. A Vulcan in science blues was lying on the floor, eyelids flickering, groaning slightly. Nyota was moving them closer to him. It took a few moments, moments Spock discovered he couldn't count, but realization hit him.

"Nyota, it's me," he said.

"Captain, I think you need to sit down," Nyota responded.

Spock didn't have to be asked twice. He knelt down beside the body that was his own. He picked up a wrist and touched the pulse points. "My pulse is weak." The body felt so warm.

Nyota was furiously patting down the science blues to the uniform waist. "Found his comm," she said. "I'll call the Enterprise now." He heard her punch in a few numbers and then Spock stopped listening. His attention was drawn to his hands, or the hands of the body he was inhabiting. The palms were rougher and squarer than his own. The fingers shorter, nails blunter. The undertones were pink.

"I'm Jim," he whispered.

"You're going to be alright," said Nyota, putting down the comm. Squeezing one of the limp hands of the Vulcan form on the ground she said. "They're beaming you, Spock and Coleman directly to sickbay."

Before Spock could correct her, he felt the familiar buzz of static and then he was in Dr. McCoy's domain. The doctor rushed towards him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dr. M'Benga run to him...or the body that belonged to him, now stretched on a gurney. In another corner Coleman's body was being wheeled away – probably to surgery and intensive care.

"Jim," said Dr. McCoy, "Uhura said you've got possible head trauma -"

"I'm Spock," Spock said.

"Hang in there, buddy," said McCoy, touching his shoulder and checking a tricorder. It struck Spock that McCoy was really worried about him-or about Jim anyway, and he_ knew_ that, without stopping to analyze McCoy's words or his facial expression. He just felt it in his gut.

"Blunt trauma to the back of the head," McCoy said.

"It probably happened when Jim fell," replied Spock.

Dr. McCoy met his eyes for a moment, then he looked back at his tricorder. Jamming a finger at a the screen he said, "Readings in the hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex are off the chart."

"Same over here," called M'Benga.

Across sickbay the door whooshed open. Nyota rushed into the room and over to the form of Spock's real body. "How is he?" she said.

Before M'Benga could reply, Spock's body, his real one, began to groan.

"I'm here, Spock, I'm here," said Nyota, taking his hands. Her eyes were bright and moist. It hurt Spock's heart to look at her in distress. Spock, in Jim's body, took a step towards her. "Nyota...Nyota...I'm over here."

She didn't look up. He saw M'Benga and McCoy's eyes meet. Was this a body swap, like had occurred in the other timeline? If so, was Jim's consciousness in Spock's own body? How had the swap resolved itself in the other timeline?

Spock knew the answer to it, although he was certain Jim hadn't given him details. In the other timeline, his elder self had melded with Jim in Lester's body. His other self was the only one who had believed Jim when he was in Lester's form.

So now the only person who could definitively identify him was in his own body. Out of the corner of his eye he saw McCoy finger a hypo and glance sideways at M'Benga.

"I am Spock," Spock said again, "You must believe me."

"Jim," said McCoy, taking a step forward. "You had a nasty blow to the back of your head. I think it would be best if -"

His Vulcan body began to groan again and Spock, McCoy and M'Benga all looked in that direction.

"Spock?" said Nyota, clasping Spock's real body's hand.

"I'm here," said Spock, taking another step forward.

Human-Vulcan eyes flickered open. Spock watched as they immediately went to Nyota.

McCoy took a step towards Spock in Jim's body. "Okay, Jim, I think you need to step back for a moment -" He had a hypo in his hand.

Spock eyed it with dread. Should he struggle? Should he run? Should he submit?

Nyota suddenly stood up as though bitten. "This isn't Spock."

"No," said the Vulcan form.

Nyota turned her head slowly to Spock. "Spock?"

"Yes," said Spock. It was odd, hearing Jim's voice when he spoke.

There was a moment of silence that Spock could not quantify; he had no internal clock. He and his wife just stared at one another. Nyota's mouth was slightly open. Her forehead was smooth, her eyes large, still moist and bright. It occurred to him that she was probably in shock.

"It will be alright," he heard himself whisper.

Nyota tilted her head...perhaps unnerved by his choice of words. It wasn't something he would normally say. It was imprecise, unprovable, but it just slipped out. He licked his lips nervously - another thing he wouldn't normally do; again, this body's reactions.

"So who is -" said M'Benga turning towards the half Vulcan on the gurney.

"You know," the Vulcan said in a flat voice, "This is really very fascinating. But it would be much more so if I had the opportunity to swap bodies with Uhura."

Eying the Vulcan form, McCoy said, "That would be the Captain."

**A/N:**

Hee. If you read and enjoyed please leave a review. They do help keep me going.**  
**


	5. Accidental Intruder

**Disclaimer: I don't own, I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom, check out her latest "What We Think We Know", I think it's her best story yet.

**Mixed Up**

Get a grip, Nyota Uhura. She squeezed her fingernails into her palms.

"So, Jim's in Spock's body and Spock's in Jim's body," M'Benga said.

"Glad we got that cleared up," said Leonard, who'd slipped between Nyota and Jim, or no, Spock in Jim's body.

Damn-it. From now on she was mentally referring to Spock in Jim's body as Human-Spock…And Jim's in Spock's body as Vulcan-Jim…which was still too damn confusing.

Scanning Human-Spock with his tricorder, the doctor added, "Jesus Christ, the activity in his prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus are still off the chart."

_It could be worse..._The thought was from Jim, _Vulcan-_Jim, but came over "The Spock Channel," that portion of her mind reserved for the bond.

"_The Spock Channel," that is so cute, _Vulcan-Jim thought.

Nyota looked at Spock, no _Vulcan-__Jim_, still lying on the gurney blinking up at the ceiling. The bond was deep, meaningful, and a life long commitment. It wasn't cute, even if she did refer to it as "The Spock Channel" upon occasion.

"I am sorry. Cute is not the right word," Vulcan-Jim said aloud. "And really, if I knew how to get out I would, but I cannot. Fuck. Why can I not use contractions?" He blinked. "At least I can still swear. Fuck."

The last expletive was just a test.

_I still am me,_ thought Vulcan-Jim. _Mostly._

Nyota tilted her head. _Mostly?_

"Spock," Leonard said going over to the gurney with Vulcan-Jim on it, "What are you talking about? M'Benga, did he rattle his skull as much as the other one -"

"I am not Spock," said Vulcan-Jim.

"You're bonded to Nyota," said Human-Spock.

Nyota was silent. Human-Spock came over to Nyota's side and slipped an arm around her waist. It wasn't a Spock thing to do...a Human-Spock thing? Nyota wasn't sure if she should be grateful, or if the gesture, odd for Spock to do, should fill her with anxiety.

Sitting up, Vulcan-Jim said, "Yes." His eyes went to Human-Spock's hand on her waist. A wave of territorial anger that was _very_ familiar flared across the bond. "Why are you touching her?" Vulcan-Jim said in a low voice.

"Because she's my wife," spat Human-Spock.

Vulcan-Jim blinked. "That is correct. You must pardon me. Fuck, I have a headache."

Spock in human form wasn't quite himself. And neither was Jim quite himself as a Vulcan. Forget being anxious, Nyota was completely weirded out.

x x x x

Leonard strode between the two neural scanners; beneath each was a bed, one with Human-Spock, the other with Vulcan-Jim. Nyota sat between them, arms over her chest, one legged crossed, the foot on the opposite leg tapping nervously.

M'Benga sighed. "We've got a Vulcan-Kirk with all of Spock's memories and all of Kirk's memories and a Human-Spock with all of Kirk's and Spock's memories."

"Most of my and Kirk's memories," said Human-Spock, moving the neural scanner away from his head. "Human memory is quite spotty."

Nyota felt a flash of annoyance from Vulcan-Jim. She cringed. _ Please don't start again, Jim, please..._

"My spotty memory stores what is essential," said Vulcan-Jim.

Nyota sighed. It's not like he listened to her as a human either.

Plowing ahead, Vulcan-Jim said, "Your extraneous memories of every day that you found lint in your belly button since you were ten years old are hardly very interesting or useful. I do not need to know the color or type of material -"

"You forgot your mother's birthday last month," said Human-Spock.

"Shut up," said Vulcan-Jim.

"No," said Human-Spock.

"Stop it!" said Nyota.

"Both of you!" said Leonard.

They'd been at each other since the time they'd woken up. Nyota uncrossed and crossed her legs again on the opposite side. So much for walking in another person's shoes giving you empathy.

Rolling his eyes, M'Benga walked over to a large display that showed the neural scans they'd taken in the past two hours. "It looks like whatever technology was down there implanted memory cells in their hypothalami, where new memories are housed, and then triggered a massive dump into the prefontal cortex, where long term memories are stored-essentially overlaying Spock's memories with Kirk's and visa-versa. It did this without erasing any of the bodies' original memories."

"We've got a mess, is what we've got," said Dr. Leonard.

Human-Spock shrugged. "It isn't ideal. However, if I remember Jim's meld with my elder self correctly, in the other timeline it resolved itself within a few days." He shrugged, "No need to panic - yet."

Nyota stared at him with wide eyes.

Voicing her thoughts, Leonard said, "That's very optimistic, Jim."

"No, I'm Spock," said Human-Spock. Blinking at Leonard he said, "Although in Jim's body, I do seem to have taken on a very optimistic outlook."

M'Benga said, "Optimism can be taught to some extent, but in general it is something that humans are born with."

"And you're an infernal-optimist, that's for sure, Jim," said Leonard.

Nyota felt rather than saw Vulcan-Jim's lips curl in a half smile.

"It's SPOCK," said Human-Spock, with actual inflection. Rubbing his head he said, "Or...for the most part."

"Maybe I'll just call you Spirk," said Leonard dryly.

Human-Spock scowled.

Oh, no. Nyota put her head in her hands. _Don't ask, Jim, don't ask..._

"If he's Spirk, what does that make me?" said Vulcan-Jim, pushing away the neural scanner and sitting up. M'Benga hovered over him with a tricorder.

Leonard opened his mouth to say something, but Human-Spock was quicker. "Kock," he said jaw tight. "With a 'K'."

Leonard snorted.

M'Benga shook his head. "Gentlemen-"

"Thank you for the 'K'," said Vulcan-Jim.

"What are friends for?" said Human-Spock.

Vulcan-Jim sat up straighter but his face did not betray the emotion he was feeling. _Spock has never called me his friend before._

It was so - plaintive, and innocent that Nyota couldn't help but respond. _ Of course he does. He just can't say it._

Vulcan-Jim blinked and said aloud. "I know that. I knew it before when I was myself, too - it's just..."

_Sometimes it's nice to hear it, _Nyota replied.

"What's going on?" asked Leonard.

"They are communicating through the bond," said Human-Spock.

Nyota looked at...her husband? His jaw was tight, blue eyes were aimed at Vulcan-Jim.

Nyota went cold. How terrible it must be for Spock cut from the bond. Worse maybe even than it could ever be for her. He was still Vulcan, wasn't he? And she was using that bond to communicate, excluding him. "I'm sorry, it comes so naturally."

Human-Spock stood up, walked towards her and put a hand on one of her shoulders. "It's alright, I understand." He didn't kiss the top of her head but he pressed his face there. A human gesture, now alien.

On the gurney Vulcan-Jim pushed M'Benga to the side and said in a low voice. "You will desist from physical contact immediately."

"She's my wife!" snapped Human-Spock.

"Come on, let's go for a walk," M'Benga said softly into the Captain's newly pointed ears. Vulcan-Jim banged his fist into the gurney, but stood up and obediently followed to a corner of the sick bay.

"Well," said Leonard to Nyota in a slightly shaky voice, "it would be a lot easier if the one person who might _know_ what is going on wasn't in intensive care at the moment, Lieutenant Uhura."

"Told you you could take him," said Human-Spock into her hair.

"No, you are mistaken," said a voice from the corner. "I clearly remember I told her that."

"No, you didn't!" said Human-Spock.

Nyota blinked. "Shut up!" she said.

_Uh oh,_ thought Vulcan-Jim.

Human-Spock took his arm off of her shoulder and licked his lips. At least he had the decency to look abashed.

"Actually," he said, putting his hands on his hips, "if Jim's memory is correct, Dr. Coleman's last words to me when he thought I was Jim were 'now you will listen to me..."

"Ugh," said Nyota. "He was talking to me the other day about mind control technology." She rubbed her temple. "I told him he interpreted it wrong; it wasn't 'control' it was 'change.'"

"And you were correct," said Vulcan-Jim suddenly closer.

"Great," Leonard sighed.

M'Benga said, "So the person who did this didn't know what he was doing and probably isn't going to be much help to us when he wakes up."

"The crystal in the honeycomb..." said Human-Spock. He looked up at Vulcan-Jim.

Vulcan-Jim's eyebrow went up in Spockish fashion. "Yes, the change happened as he inserted the crystal into the hexagonal...damn it, I mean honeycomb-shaped sheath."

"It shattered," said Nyota. She looked down and bit her lip. "When Coleman fell." There was no other choice at the time; she had to hit him. Had she doomed Spock and Jim to mixed memories and mixed bodies forever?

_If you had not done as you had done, Spock and my body would be dead. This outcome, even if permanent, is preferable, _Vulcan-Jim said over the bond.

"You did what you had to do," said Human-Spock, rubbing her shoulder.

"Can the crystal be reconstructed?" asked M'Benga. "Studying it...in its entirety seems like a good starting place."

"I believe I can do it, although I will be handicapped by my human memory," said Human-Spock. "I don't think this human mind was capable of absorbing all of my Vulcan memories."

"But I have the memories," said Vulcan-Jim. "Between us, with Nyo- Lieutenant Uhura's translation help, and Dr. Lester's knowledge of the ruins and planet, I think it can be done."

"I imagine Dr. Lester will be quite anxious to help you out," said Human-Spock.

She didn't need the bond to know Vulcan-Jim become flustered. He flushed dark green.

Well...that conquest had been fast...

Vulcan-Jim looked at her and went even greener.

Turning to Leonard, Human-Spock said, "May we be discharged, please?"

Nyota's stomach constricted. Or maybe it was Vulcan-Jim's stomach constricting?

"No," said Leonard. "You need to stay here so we can monitor you overnight."

Nyota felt her shoulders relax.

Whoever was in Jim's body thought he was Spock, and whoever was in Spock's body thought he was Jim. But who were they really? Some traits transcended their bodies: Human-Spock seemed to have kept his romantic attachment to her; Vulcan-Jim still wanted to swear.

Other traits they inherited with their bodies. Human-Spock's optimism. Vulcan-Jim's territorial instincts...she shivered a bit. Where was her husband and bond-mate, really? Where did her loyalties lie? She closed her eyes for a moment. What would happen when they reverted to their real bodies - would a territorial Spock feel betrayed by every moment Human-Spock displayed affection and she did not repel it?

_I think..._Vulcan-Jim thought, _I will be able to rationalize it..._

But...

She looked up at him and felt his relief that Human-Spock would not be in the same quarters as her tonight.

She looked at Human-Spock. He swallowed. "It might be for the best," he said withdrawing the hand that rested on her shoulder. But he had a look in his eyes, a look that she hadn't seen on a human man in a long time.

He looked like he wanted to kiss her.

**A/N:**

Ahhh…yes, my own _special_ brand of Spirk. Hope you enjoyed!


	6. Family Ties

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't Profit.**

Thanks to Beta Notes – Check out her latest "What We Think We Know" in my faves. It's her best yet.

**Family Ties**

Spock was a child. A human child. He was at once within and outside of himself. He could see his small slender body with dirty blond hair and light eyes; and with those eyes he could look at the doorknob, just below his chin. He could feel the book clutched to his chest and simultaneously read the cover, _The Swiss Family Robinson_.

There was a thundering outside the room. Footsteps on stairs. Any moment now the doorknob would twist, and the door would open, and the thunder would spill into the room. There was a window, an escape, but his feet refused to move.

From outside the room the thundering stopped. "Where the fuck are you, George! George!"

The voice was calling his older brother. Spock knew his brother was George, because he was in Jim's memory.

The door opened. Spock didn't see. He just felt his body hefted from the ground.

The world was a gray blur and he was being held aloft by a shadow. A shadow he knew was Frank, Jim's stepfather.

"Where is your brother, Jim?"

Spock and Jim's head rattled on his neck. And then he was flying. There was pain and a crack, and the air was being knocked out of him. There was darkness and yelling...and something else. A hand in his, too warm, but _reassuring_.

"Wake up, Spock. Wake up."

Spock woke up. Bolting upright he gasped for air - and found himself face to face with himself, pointed ears, black hair and black eyes. For a moment he thought he was still dreaming, and then he remembered what had happened. Jim was in his real body, and If Spock looked in a mirror, he would see Jim's reflection instead of his own.

As his borrowed brain flickered into wakefulness, the unfamiliar lights of the medbay blinked around him. Nearby was the bed Jim was supposed to be in, but Jim in his Vulcan body was sitting next to Spock. He felt relief, but it was not his own. It took a moment to realize Jim's hand was on his, and Jim's relief flowed from that hand to him. As soon as the realization hit, the hand was withdrawn.

In his real body Spock did have dreams, and he did have nightmares, especially after the fall of Vulcan. On any other night after a nightmare it would be Nyota's consciousness flowing into his own giving him comfort. He felt an ache in his gut. Nyota was not in his mind now...she was bonded to his body - now inhabited by Jim Kirk. Spock bit back the jealousy, anger and anxiety that caused him.

Turning to Jim, Spock found the Vulcan face a mask. Since coming into a human body, Spock had been able to read every human he encountered, but Jim as a Vulcan was almost a cipher. Spock had to think to pick up on what Jim's Vulcan self was feeling.

Now Jim the Vulcan swallowed. "I apologize. Sometimes, after I - we, lose a fight I have that dream."

...as soon as he said it Spock knew it to be true. Although he had access to all of Jim's memories, as a human he did not at any one moment have awareness of all those memories. He stumbled into them on an as-needed basis.

Spock also knew that the event in the dream was true. "It's not your fault. There is nothing to apologize for." There _was_ nothing Jim had to apologize for. Not the dream, and not for being bonded to Nyota. "Thank you," said Spock, "for waking me."

Jim nodded.

Spock ran his hands down his face. Where was Nyota? Maybe he should call her again? He looked at the chronometer. It was 3 a.m. Perhaps she was not sleeping, though; she had trouble when she was nervous. Where was his comm? Should he? Not if it would wake her.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing his pride, he said, "Jim, is Nyota asleep?"

"Yes," said Jim. "She fell asleep just ninety three min-an hour and a half ago."

Spock clenched his jaw. He'd asked, hadn't he? He wasn't allowed to feel jealous.

Sighing, Spock said, "How are you? Is my body giving you any unexpected trouble?"

"Besides the inability to sleep?" said Jim the Vulcan.

"You don't need to sleep," said Spock. "But you should meditate - it will help you control yourself."

"That sounds as interesting as watching paint dry," said Jim.

"Watching paint dry would be very meditative," said Spock, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha," said Vulcan Jim flatly.

"In all seriousness, Jim," said Spock becoming concerned, "You need to meditate -"

"Noted," said Vulcan Jim. He looked down. "There is something else...that is more serious...I have..." Tilting his head he said, "There is anxiety, worry...but I do not think it is mine, and it is not Nyota's..."

Rubbing his eyes, Spock said, "My father, Sarek. I, you, are bonded a little bit to him, too."

"You are correct. That is the source." The Vulcan form sat up straighter. "We should call him."

Feeling drained, Spock lay back in bed. "He is in negotiations on Romulus right now. We should not disturb him." This body required a lot more sleep than Spock was used to.

"Sarek may be on Romulus, but that does not mean we should not call him. He may not be in negotiations this exact moment," said Jim.

Laying an arm over his eyes, Spock said, "That is not necessary."

"You cannot..." said the Vulcan. "He is worried about me...you..."

Spock peeked out from under his arm. Vulcan Jim wasn't sitting quite as straight. Rubbing one of his pointed ears, two very black eyes blinked at Spock. There was something in Jim's demeanor that reminded Spock of a smacked puppy...Now that was a metaphor that definitely came with_ this _body.

There was no need to explain to Jim that Spock and Sarek weren't on the best of terms, Jim would know that. He looked at the Vulcan again. Jim was still blinking at him.

Spock did not sigh. "Where is the comm?"

Jim handed Spock his comm. As he did so his fingers brushed Spock's and Spock felt a confusing mixture of anticipation, anxiety, and even a bit of bittersweet happiness...and then awareness as Jim caught on to what was happening. The Vulcan withdrew his hand quickly and flushed green.

Spock raised an eyebrow at him - well, it may have been more of a scowl, now that he thought of it. This body didn't seem to be able to arch one eyebrow at a time. He picked up the comm, punched in the code to connect to the subspace array, and then stopped. "I don't remember the number for the diplomatic delegation's subspace array or Sarek's personal - "

"011125XZ 3259," said the Vulcan.

"Right," said Spock, inputting the numbers and trying not to let his frustration show.

The comm chimed five times and was about to go to voice mail. Turning to Jim, Spock said, "Well, that's it; he's-"

"Wait!" said Jim.

Spock did his approximation of a raised eyebrow and turned back to the comm as Sarek's line transferred to voice mail.

"Wait," said Jim, "he's coming -"

Looking back at Jim, Spock said, "The parental bond isn't as strong, Jim, I don't -"

"Captain Kirk, what has happened to my son?" It was Sarek's voice. To Spock's newly human ears he did not sound pleased. In fact...if he wasn't mistaken, he would say Sarek was annoyed. Sarek was very good at controlling his emotions. If he sounded annoyed it meant he was..._righteously pissed. _

_..._well...there was another expression that came with this body.

Blinking at the tiny screen Spock said, "Father I..."

Jim the Vulcan pushed his face into the tiny camera frame. "It is a long story _sameh_-Ambassador Sarek."

"I just finished 13 straight hours of negotiations -" said Sarek.

"We can leave you alone to rest," said Spock.

"-which means I have plenty of time for long stories," said Sarek. "Start at the beginning."

Was that the faintest traces of a scowl Spock saw on his father's features?

Jim and Spock told Sarek the story- leaving out only Jim's sexual innuendos. Sarek did not look surprised to find that Jim Kirk now occupied the body of his son. Not that Spock was certain he'd recognize surprise in his father without the bond, but he obviously had known something was wrong. He may have sensed a different presence in the bond just as Nyota had.

As Spock and Jim finished up the tale, Sarek sat back in a tall chair; he had long since given up the tiny comm and switched to a bigger monitor, as Spock and Jim had. Now Spock had a better view of his father's features, and a tiny inset in the frame where he could watch Jim's Vulcan expressions as well.

Sarek said nothing. Perhaps a flicker of concern passed over his face; Spock wasn't sure. What had compelled Jim to want to call him? Just the bond? What did Jim know of Sarek?

As soon as the question entered his mind, Spock could see what Jim knew of Sarek - small interactions from this lifetime - but in the _other_. Spock saw another Sarek; heavier, older, and he knew somehow that that Sarek was even more unyielding than his own, more wedded to Vulcan traditions. But wait, in another memory, that Sarek was yelling at the other Captain Kirk, older, stockier, oddly hazel eyed. The other Sarek had come great distances and was angry because...Because that Captain Kirk had cast Spock's body into space without reclaiming Spock's _katra_. That Sarek had come to find his son -

"Well," said the Sarek in this timeline. "Now you are both certifiably out of your minds."

Spock's human mouth dropped open a fraction. In the tiny inset he could see the Vulcan Jim's eyebrows shoot up, and then the faintest curl of a smile on either side of his lips.

His father was joking? At a time like this?

Sarek seemed to sigh infinitesimally, and then said, "No doubt Starfleet will grant you all the time you need to resolve this issue."

"What is your full meaning?" said Jim, one eyebrow cocked and an edge to his voice...he was angry, Spock was almost certain.

Sarek's body straightened a bit. "Starfleet has regulations against those not in their right minds on active duty."

Spock felt his stomach drop; his hands fisted in his lap. Sarek was right, of course. He and Jim stood to lose _everything. _ He took a deep breath. This would be fixed. He _couldn't_ believe anything else.

Tilting his head, Jim said nothing to Sarek's statement. They ended the call with formal Vulcan pleasantries and Jim's Vulcan self seemed fully in control. If he felt the dread, the anger, Spock was feeling, he gave no sign.

After the call Jim didn't discuss the issue. He simply got up and walked back to his bed and stared down at the mattress.

Spock wasn't certain if he should say anything; why dwell on something you couldn't change?

This thought had just flashed through Spock's mind when Jim reached down, grabbed the sidebars of the light medbed, and heaved the whole thing across the room. As the bed crashed against the wall, lights went on overhead and shouts came from down the corridor.

Spock restrained a sigh as an alarm went off and the sound of invading footsteps got louder.

Jim in his Vulcan form stared stiffly at the wall. Tilting his head he said, "It looks like I am in need of some wet paint."

**A/N:**

**Hope you enjoyed! If you did, please leave a review. They help keep me going in my fifteen minute spurts of stolen time.**


	7. Loyalty

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom, check out her latest "What We Think We Know" in my faves.

**Loyalty**

It was a matter of loyalty.

Nyota stood in front of the closed med bay doors at 06:00 the morning after the accident. Human-Spock and Vulcan-Jim were to be discharged this morning. After every other dust-up that required overnight observation, she would come down and meet Spock for breakfast - with the exception of the sex pollen incident when Leonard had helpfully suggested they confine themselves to their quarters.

The only thing was, after this particular dust-up she wasn't sure who Spock was, or where he was. Did the half Vulcan man behind the doors only think he was Jim while the human man imagined he was Spock?

_Does it matter?_ Nyota jumped. The question came from across the bond. The doors slid open and she met familiar black eyes, and longing pulled at her heart.

He wasn't wearing his science blues. Well, that would be inappropriate now, wouldn't it? Just his black undershirt and regulations pants—the same he had worn the day before; she recognized a loose string at the collar. He looked so much like _her_ Spock.

The half Vulcan swallowed. _Since both of us seem to be under the same delusion, it is better to act as though we are who we think we are. I am Jim Kirk._

Even as Jim thought this, Nyota felt an echo of longing from him. Vulcan-Jim flushed a little green.

_The bond is a physical element of the body you're inhabiting. In Vulcans it inhabits all areas of the brain, even the brainstem,_ Nyota thought.

_Like a God damned Nebillian parasitic worm, _thought Vulcan-Jim. Nyota felt him bite back the urge to spit_. _

_It...I...I feel like I'm hitting on my friend and first officer's wife, _Vulcan-Jim thought, his eyes carefully averted from her.

Trying to lighten the mood, Nyota raised an eyebrow.

Feeling her question, Vulcan-Jim flushed again. _You do know - I would not...never..._

And she did know, even before. Flirting in Jim's language could mean many things; once he'd known she and Spock were an item, his flirtations had never been more than his own _special _brand of friendliness.

Vulcan-Jim met her eyes. "Come with me," he said aloud. He led her to the room he and Jim had shared the night before. Through the glass wall Nyota saw Human-Spock still asleep in bed.

Vulcan-Jim said, "Bones thought it was best to let him rest. We had a bit of a rough night."

An image of a bed heaved against the wall filled her mind; she looked over at Vulcan-Jim.

Not meeting her eyes he said, "I apparently need to meditate."

Nodding in Human-Spock's direction he said, "Go see him, Uhura. I will try to think about something else." With that he turned and stalked stiffly off, the blackness of his mood practically radiating off of him. Nyota was certain you didn't need to be bonded to see it.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and entered Human-Spock's room.

The sound of the door whooshing open and shut didn't wake him. Walking over, Nyota pulled up a chair and sat down. Jim...well, Jim's body, looked ten years younger when he was asleep. Lying in front of her was an Iowa farm boy, not a starship captain...Or a half-Vulcan trapped in the body of an Iowa farm boy. Reaching out, she took one of his hands. It was cool, human, yet _alien _to her now. Eyelids flickered over blue eyes.

"Hey," Nyota said.

"Nyota," said Human-Spock. He pulled himself up out of the regulation green medbay linens. Eyes unfocused, hair mussed in a way in his own body it never seemed to be, he looked so...human.

Squeezing her hand he said, "I was afraid you wouldn't come."

And there it was, in less than 30 seconds, contradictions to the belief that he was her Spock: squeezing her hand, the direct expression of emotion, "I was afraid"...words that he might not even be able to articulate in his other body.

Swallowing, Nyota looked down at his hand. They were rougher than his Vulcan hands. The fingers were squarer, the nails blunt and short.

"I know this is awkward for you," Human-Spock said.

Nyota sighed and met his eyes. "It can't be worse for me than it is for you."

Spock kneaded her fingers with his own. "It could have been much worse...and the experience is..." Smiling just a bit as though experimenting with the expression, he said, "Fascinating."

His face contorted into a bit of a scowl for a moment; Nyota realized he was trying to raise an eyebrow.

Take a deep breath, Nyota. Try to think positive. "You could have swapped bodies with Keenser," she said referring to Scotty's short, reptile-like sidekick.

"That actually would have been far more interesting than this body," Human-Spock said, looking down and surveying his legs. "This body - I have all the same parts, I'm warm blooded, I can't absorb nutrients or oxygen through my skin...maybe I should consider myself cheated?"

Nyota blinked. He was joking. It wasn't un-Spocklike to joke in difficult circumstances. It was something he did to cut tension. But in this case...

Nyota let go of his hand, ripped the pillow out from under him and hit him across the stomach with it. Human-Spock caught her arms and pinned them against the pillow, but not hard. "Nyota," he said, his face just inches from her own. "I am still Spock. I am still me...and I still...I still..." He exhaled a breath as though he were angry and then he, Spock in Kirk's body, or a delusional Kirk, kissed her.

His lips were firm. Warm, but cooler than she was accustomed to, and she could tell they were chapped. Her own lips refused to respond. Should she respond?

Pulling back, Human-Spock said, "Nyota, we _will_ fix this. I know it can be undone."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say or do. And then he looked past her and scowled. Turning her head, Nyota met Janice Lester's eyes through the glass wall of the room. The woman swallowed and then turned and then nearly ran from sickbay.

"She and Jim..." said Human-Spock.

"We may need her help to get you back," said Nyota.

"Yes," said Human-Spock sitting up straighter and bringing his legs around to the side of the bed.

Finally, an opportunity to _do_ something rather than just philosophize and mope. Jumping up out of her chair, Nyota said, "I will fix this."

She took off after Janice, half striding, half jogging into the hallway. "Janice, Janice!" Nyota called, seeing the other woman's form disappear around a corner. Nyota gave up all pretenses of looking professional and ran after her.

Nyota caught Janice in front of the turbo-lift. The other woman was frantically jamming her thumb into the turbolift call button.

"Janice," said Nyota.

Taking a deep breath, Janice turned to her. "I'm sorry, I..."

Nyota blinked. Janice thought she'd been the "other woman" and was obviously suitably mortified.

The turbolift whooshed opened and Janice hopped in. Nyota caught the door. "Look," Nyota said, "there is something you should know...and Jim...the real Jim, needs your..._our _help."

Janice tilted her head, her brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

x x x x

It was a matter of loyalty.

Jim strode down the hall in long strides. You did not hit on your best friend's girl. Okay, Spock wasn't technically his best friend in this timeline, but they were still...something. They were friends. Comrades in arms. They were always on each other's side even when they fought, which was frequently, more in this timeline than the last.

An ensign passed him, met his eyes, smiled a little and then turned away quickly. Too quickly? Jim couldn't tell. Was she nervous? Flirtatious? Mocking? He had access to a mental database of thousands of humans modeling different facial expressions - the problem was they did not belong to _that _particular human. She was unreadable.

He needed a drink - but Bones was on duty, and although he wouldn't mind Jim helping himself to his secret stash, that wasn't going to do Jim a lick of good in his current form. And besides, that would involve going back to sickbay which would involve going by Spock and Uhura, and Jim wasn't sure he could handle that.

Making an abrupt turn, he nearly collided with two crew members in red. One's mouth dropped open. The other...scowled? Surprise? Anger? Nodding quickly to their stammered "sirs," Jim headed towards the observation deck.

Uhura was the only person on board he _could _read, and the fact that he couldn't be near her just made him feel that much more isolated. If he reached out he could feel her touch her hand to Spock's. Feel how Spock's human coolness felt _alien_ to her...

Do not think of it. Do not think of it.

He took a deep breath. His mind reached out of its own accord to the only other presence that was not unreadable. It was automatic - and yet something he knew Spock controlled because he and Sarek did not get along. He had all the memories of their disagreements. But they seemed...so trivial.

The other presence responded. It was cool. Logical. More controlled than Jim would ever be, in his human form or in this one. Unlike Uhura he could not speak in words to Sarek. But he could feel what Sarek was feeling. Unlike Uhura, Sarek wasn't worried. No, that wasn't correct. Unlike Uhura he _refused_ to worry because...because...Jim searched Spock's mind. It would be wrong, _illogical,_ to cause Jim discomfort for something that was not his fault. Jim also felt a something else, a steely determination.

Slipping into the observation deck, he made his way to the wide window that looked out at the stars.

In another timeline Jim had seen the lengths Sarek would go for his Spock. In this timeline he felt it would be no different.

His eyes met Spock's reflection in the glass. He started and almost turned away and then saw another reflection there. Red hair, a feminine form...whose waist to hip ratio .7, his brain had run the calculations without any prompting. That was the optimal ratio for childbearing, and generally deemed the most attractive to human and Vulcan males. Fascinating.

"Jim?" Janice said.

Jim turned, "Janice." Tilting his head, he analyzed her features. Her face was very symmetrical, but not as symmetrical as Nyota Uhura's...don't think of it.

She swallowed. Nervousness? Excess saliva production?

"I almost thought you'd made me the other woman," Janice said.

"I have many faults, but dishonesty is not one of them...In this or my other form." Well, in his human form he was not dishonest in these sorts of matters anyway - unless, seduction was for professional purposes, of course.

Janice huffed a laugh, though her face did not smile. "I guess if that is from a Vulcan, it must be true."

Jim blinked at the contradicting emotional displays.

Janice stared at him. "I'm sorry, Jim. This must be..."

Jim tilted his head.

"I guess...well...us..."

Us. Oh. Us. Was she interested in him in this body? Would he use this body in that way if given a chance?

Yes. Yes, he would.

But could he? He tilted his head the other way. She was still attractive to him, in a clinical way. And yet...

"It's okay," Janice said stepping forward. "I mean, it must be really strange, everything you've been through. I'm not offended. And I'll help you in any way I can..."

Jim felt a moment of vertigo; his stomach dropped a little and he felt almost nauseous. And then there was a confusing swell of sadness, determination, sincerity...

It took a moment for him to realize Janice was clasping his hand. That was _her..._He'd been taken unaware - unlike the night before when he'd grabbed Spock's hand during the nightmare. But he'd known what to expect then. Also, touching Spock's hand was somehow familiar. Like driving along a road you'd been on many times before. This was new, and disquieting, but...

When he didn't respond he felt..._shame_. Janice tried to pull her hand away but Jim caught it.

"Thank you, Janice," he said meeting her eyes. She would help him in any way she could. She was very sorry. "For the help..."

"Hey, I take my tawdry affairs seriously," she said.

Jim's eyebrow rose at the sensation in his fingers. She didn't think the affair was tawdry. She liked him. He wouldn't say she was in love with him, but there was affection there. And she would bend over backwards to make this right. He felt that, too.

He liked her a lot. It struck him that wrapping his arms around her would not be inappropriate, but his arms stayed frozen at his side. What was wrong with this body? Swallowing he said, "Thank you also...for understanding."

She smiled a thin _sad _smile...he knew exactly what sort of smile it was from the fingers on his. "No problem," she said rubbing his shoulder. Taking a deep breath she said, "You know, I'm starving. What passes for breakfast around here?"

x x x x

Janice had a nice a -

_Dr._ Janice _Lester _had nice gluteal muscles and overlaying fascia. This wasn't a revelation to Spock. He'd noticed it when he was in his other body. But now, as Dr. Lester strode through the mess next to Jim in his Vulcan form, this body's reaction to the lovely curve of her waist towards her hips was -

"Spock?"

Spock blinked and turned his head. Nyota was staring at him from across the table, spoonful of yogurt poised between the bowl and her mouth, brows furrowed.

Had he just?

"You were just staring at her ass," Nyota said.

Uh-oh. He had just caused more distress to the person who meant more to him than anyone else in this universe. His body went cold.

Eyeing him suspiciously, Nyota said, "That isn't something you do -"

"I notice attractiveness in my body as well -"

"But you don't ogle over the breakfast table," said Nyota putting her spoon back into the bowl unfinished.

Licking his lips automatically- no wonder Jim's lips were always chapped—Spock leaned across the table and met her eyes. He had to fix this. It was a matter of loyalty. "You're right, Nyota. I apologize for my behavior. It was rude...and...hurtful. I will learn to control this body's reactions in the future."

"Well..." she said. She blinked. "Well, you're not Jim Kirk."

But he wasn't quite himself either.

A/N:

Hope you all had fun! If you did pls leave a review. It's the only way fan fic authors and our over worked betas get paid!


	8. Who Is Number One?

**I Don't Own. I Don't Profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes. Check out her latest in my faves, "What We Think We Know"; it's her best yet.

**Who is Number One?**

It was only 7 a.m. and Admiral Pike needed a drink. He stared at the monitor connecting him to Camus II and the _Enterprise's _CMO and Dr. M'Benga.

"And this guy, Coleman, did this because he wanted to dispatch with a potential suitor?" said Pike.

McCoy sighed, "Yeah, according to his account he was just trying to dissuade Kirk from any further association with her. He thought it was a mind control device, not a mind…swapping device."

"So, let me get this straight," Pike said. "Now Kirk thinks he's Spock and Spock thinks he's Kirk."

"I believe it is a little more complex than that," said M'Benga.

Drumming his fingers on his desk, Pike said, "How the Hell is that possible?"

"What M'Benga means," said Dr. McCoy, "is that the device has mapped the memories of the other over the top of the host body's original memories."

"English please," said Pike.

"Sir," said M'Benga, "consciousness doesn't reside at any one place in the brain. It is the sum total of everything within the mind, but memories figure very prominently in who we perceive ourselves to be."

Dr. McCoy nodded at his colleague and then turned back to Pike, "Many of the actions we've learned through repetition and perform from moment to moment, even speech, are controlled by our autonomic nervous system in the cerebellum. This part of their brains was untouched -"

Pike cleared his throat.

Taking the hint, M'Benga said very quickly, "So they have many of the same mannerisms as their host body, but their memories make them identify themselves as the other. And at some level, they _are _the other man - but their consciousness interacts with their host body's innate biology and learned behaviors in different ways than might have occurred in their original bodies."

"So -" said Pike waving his hand in the air.

"Spockish Kirk and Kirkish Spock," said Dr. Mc Coy.

"Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up," said Pike. "You don't think this device has just driven them mad?"

A scowl played across M'Benga's face. "They are both fully capable of rational thought, and we see no sign of delusion. Although obviously it has been less than 24 hours; they'll need to be observed. I would say they are as sane as they ever were."

Pike snorted. "This is Kirk and Spock we're talking about."

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "I'll rephrase it for my colleague. They're no more insane than normal."

"I'll see you on the conference call later," Pike said. The doctors nodded.

"Pike out," he said flipping the disconnect button.

As soon as the screen cleared, Pike flipped another button. "Computer, get me Number One."

Dulcet tones replied, "No one by that name currently -"

Drumming his desk again in frustration, Pike said, "Get me Commander Cath—"

At just that moment there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" said Pike.

From beneath straight black bangs framed by a neat straight bob, familiar icy blue eyes met his.

"One!" said Pike, grinning. "I was just trying to locate you."

One side of One's mouth turned up. She was about as expressive as a Vulcan, "Good to know we still have our psychotic connection."

Pike huffed a laugh at the old joke. "Before I get down to business - It's a little early to be stopping by. What is going on, One?"

Stepping into the office, One shrugged and opened her comm. "I was just in the officers' mess with Lieutenant-Commander Broehner from SI, and we heard a rumor that there was a body swapping incident." She pressed a few buttons on her comm. "Broehner, are you there?" she said into the device.

"Yeah, I'm here," said the familiar voice of the Starfleet Intelligence officer.

Looking up at Pike she said, "We have a bet. I say it was Captain Kirk and Commander Spock. He said it was anyone else."

Pike sighed. "It was Captain Kirk and Commander Spock."

"You owe me fifty credits," said One into her comm.

"How the -" stammered Broehner. "Of all the ships in the Fleet. Statistically -"

"We'll catch up later, Broehner," said One, eyes back on Pike. She flipped off the comm.

"You wanted to see me?" she said.

Squinting at her and gesturing at a free chair, Pike said, "How did you know it was them?"

Shrugging and seating herself, One said, "Kirk and Spock inhabit the vortex of a massive singularity of weirdness." Slipping her comm into her pocket, she counted on her fingers, "Mad Romulan from the future, sex pollen, mirror universe nasty goateed counterparts, being thrown back in time to Earth's dark ages and having to defend Earth's populace from renegade Vulcans - who may or may not be the inspiration for the elves of our lore - oh, and there's always Spock's elder self from the alternate timeline."

Blinking, Pike said, "You know about the elder Spock? That's classified."

Tilting her head, One said, "No, I didn't know. I suspected. Now I know."

"How -?"

Running her hand through her neatly coiffed bob, One said, "I ran into him at a cocktail party and noticed the resemblance. When I asked, he said he was a relative of Spock's...but his voice got all stilty strange and melodramatic when he said it. Vulcans make such poor liars. What with Nero, the strange ship Spock used to blow up the Narada wormhole from the future - I put two and two together."

Pike narrowed his eyes. Two and two. It was more like she'd pieced together the coefficient of general volumetric thermal expansion. She had Spock's mind and Kirk's intuition. She was, in many ways, the best of both of the two.

"Well," said Pike, "it wasn't so much body swapping as consciousness swapping."

"Body swapping did seem like a far-fetched term," said One.

Grabbing his cane and hoisting himself up, Pike said, "There is a chance based on some things we've learned about the alternate timeline that they will revert to themselves in a few days." He sighed.

Raising an eyebrow, One said, "But?"

"But in the event that they don't, I'll need an interim captain."

"You know I don't want to be captain," said One.

Pike sighed inwardly; one thing she had in common with Spock was a marked lack of ambition in that department.

"It's against regulations for the captain to go down on away missions. And when he does it's always in the middle of a security detail sandwich. I'm not interested," said One.

Spock's respect for the rules, combined with Kirk's adrenaline junky nature. In this case it did not serve him well.

"One," Pike said, "it's the flagship. You're the best qualified - and I won't have to move another captain from another ship and have to fill his position if you take it."

One tapped her fingers on the side of the chair for a few moments. Pike hobbled over on his cane and sat down on his desk.

"Alright," she said.

He blinked. That was easier than expected.

Their psychotic connection must still have been working because she said, "It's Kirk and Spock. Whatever vortex of weirdness they inhabit, they seem to emerge from mostly unscathed. It won't be for long."

"Thank you, One," said Pike.

"No problem," said One. "Do you want to go get a coffee?"

"It's probably too early to get the kind of drink I need," said Pike.

One narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, a coffee would be good. Let's head to the mess," said Pike.

Standing up, One took the arm that didn't have the cane. At another time it had been him supporting her...

As they made their way into the hallway, One's lips slipped into a smile. On her normally inexpressive face it looked positively wicked. "With Spock in Kirk's body and Kirk in Spock's, I'm sure the lovely, delicious -" she caught Pike's disapproving look and said, "_talented_ Lieutenant Uhura is very confused and bereft. She is probably in need of some comforting."

There were other things One shared in common with Kirk. Pike had no doubt that One would never _seriously_ make a pass at Lieutenant Uhura. Making casual passes just enough to turn Spock green was another matter entirely. He was convinced One had a bit of a death wish.

"Starfleet is going to give her permission to stay on at Camus II. Forget it, One."

One raised an eyebrow, but the wicked smile diminished not one bit.

x x x x

"You have a week," Admiral Pike said. "After that an interim captain will be assigned."

Jim tilted his head. Across the conference table, Spock leaned on his elbows with his hands intertwined. Bones, M'Benga, Uhura, and Janice were also at the table. As the Admiral flickered out, Spock in Jim's body squeezed his knuckles so tightly they cracked. He sat up quickly, straightened his body, and met Jim's eyes.

It was a strange sensation staring at himself; Jim still hadn't gotten used to it. The science blues brought out the blue in Spock's eyes so much they almost seemed to glow. Did he usually sit so rigidly? No, that was Spock. Jim mentally checked his own posture; he was sitting _too_ rigidly. He leaned back in his chair, draped an arm on the table, did his best to loosen himself up. Across from him, Spock in his human form became even more rigid.

Perhaps Jim stared a moment too long, because uncharacteristically, Spock took the lead in the conversation.

"Well," said Spock, "I believe that will give us enough time to recreate the original crystal."

Without even trying, Jim's Vulcan brain had begun running the odds on the likeliness of Spock's statement. It was an extremely optimistic assessment.

Sitting next to Jim, Janice said, "I located the region where the crystals were quarried."

Jim felt one of his eyebrows rise. Janice had only had a few minutes to familiarize herself with the _Enterprise's _scanners, but she'd put those minutes to good use. Not having to fabricate the crystal from scratch would help immensely. He really liked her mind...

"Jim and I will get to work on cutting it to specs," said Spock, nodding in Jim's direction.

"I'll keep working on translating the Rosetta Stone," said Uhura.

Nodding at her, Janice said, "We'll continue to excavate around the chamber. If we find anything that resembles writing, we'll send it to you."

Leaning back on his chair, M'Benga pulled out a tricorder. "Jim's Vulcan neural scan is still not reading normally."

Pulling out a tricorder, Bones said, "Same for Spirk over there."

"Speak English," said Jim. He could still use idioms...thank God.

"You shouldn't try switching back to your human form before your scans return to normal," said M'Benga. "Dr. McCoy, would you say the same for Spock...Spirk...Human Spock?"

"I agree completely," said McCoy.

"Noted," said Spock, meeting Jim's eyes.

"Uh-huh," said Jim, forcing his Vulcan form to articulate the imprecise words. If their neural scans weren't normal at the end of the week...like Hell they'd wait.

**A/N:**

Some questions answered hopefully. I tried to work the sci-fi neurology stuff in without putting anyone to sleep. If you liked Number One in this check out "Vulcan's Don't Share" - my Spock & Number One friendship fic!

If you're still awake, and enjoyed, please leave a review. It's the only way fanfic authors and our betas get paid.


	9. Monogamy

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. I wouldn't be able to do this without her help. I joke with her that if these chapters were on paper, most of them would be milk stained - little distracted sometimes here. Anyway, check out her latest "What We Think We Know" in my faves.

**Monogamy**

"It's not going to work," Nyota said from the couch.

She had two PADDs on the coffee table in front of her. It was six days after the incident - there was only one day left before an interim captain was assigned to the Enterprise.

They were in the porta shelter they were sharing on Camus II - it reminded Spock of the mobile homes near Jim's home in Iowa. Spock asked if staying in one might not needlessly attract tornadoes - the times in Jim's memories when tornadoes hit mobile homes seemed to defy all statistical probability. It was a joke, to put Nyota at ease, but she'd just stared at him confused. However, when he looked at Jim in his Vulcan form he'd caught a glimpse of a raised eyebrow and a half smile. Dr. McCoy, who was standing by at the time, had said, "It doesn't matter where you stay. If there is a tornado around, you two will attract it. I'm staying in my own quarters up at the ship."

Spock, Nyota, and Jim stayed on planet because it required less energy expenditure than beaming down everyday...and maybe because it made things easier. Spock and Nyota's quarters aboard the Enterprise didn't feel quite right. Things were taller than he remembered. None of his clothes fit correctly. Here at least everything was new. There were no conflicting memories of this place to remind him how wrong things were. He'd even gotten new clothes that fit from the Camus II stores.

Dropping a hand too heavily on one of the PADDs, Nyota said again, "It isn't going to work." She made a loud moan and rubbed her eyes with one hand.

This was an invitation. Spock put down the tea he was making in the small kitchen - his third cup in less than an hour. Jim Kirk's body was addicted to caffeine and if Spock didn't keep the drug coming, he got headaches and Nyota claimed he got irritable.

Walking over, he sat down next to his wife on the couch. She rarely touched him since the incident, and when she did it was platonic gestures and usually timid. Intellectually he understood her hesitation. Emotionally, he felt let down. Physically it was frustrating _as hell. _They slept every night back to back and every morning he woke up in a condition that made him painfully aware of the absent intimacy between them.

Now he put a hand on her knee. She didn't draw back instinctively at his touch; that was a consolation. "It is illogical to worry just yet," Spock said. "The crystal is in the final polishing stage now. In the morning -"

"In the morning it's not going to work," said Nyota. Sighing, she picked up a PADD. "I'm almost certain this indicates that there is another room somewhere, where the "awareness" is supposed to be reversed..."

Spock squeezed her knee. "In the last timeline the condition reversed itself -"

"Then they wanted it to be permanent and it wasn't," Nyota snapped. "Maybe in the last timeline Coleman didn't know what he was doing either!"

Spock blinked. "Well, if it doesn't work tomorrow, we'll keep looking. Don't worry, Nyota," he said leaning in closer. "We'll be able to fix it."

Nyota scowled at him and turned her head.

"Hey," Spock said, using a finger to turn her face back to him. "I thought the optimism that this body came with was one of the more endearing features." More endearing than the wandering eye or the snoring brought on by a deviated septum. Had he done that in his fight on the bridge, or was it some other brawl Jim had gotten himself into?

Looking down, Nyota whispered, "Yes..." A tear slipped down her cheek.

Spock closed his eyes for a minute. His jaw tightened. It suddenly occurred to him that he was virtually sprawled on the sofa even in this sitting position - his knees wide apart, his back slightly bowed. It was a human way of sitting. A Jim Kirk way.

Straightening, he said, "It is just not one of my features."

Nyota met his eyes. She did not answer. She didn't have to. And he didn't need the bond to know that.

Since becoming human, Spock felt less alone in many ways than he ever had. He had an instinctual understanding of what others were thinking and feeling. For the past week Spock had worked with the Terran scientists here. He would describe his relationships with them as excellent. When he was working, despite the absence of the bond he didn't feel alone.

The only time he truly felt alone was when it was just him and Nyota. They couldn't engage in many of the mental games they'd played before they'd bonded. Before, they used to tease each other by slipping in and out of multiple languages. But Jim Kirk's brain couldn't absorb all of Spock's memories of xeno languages. Now Spock spoke just Standard and Vulcan - his native language had interestingly fully transferred, and a wide plethora of swears from all the races of the known galaxy.

It was just one of the many memory deficiencies Spock faced now. Nor did he have an accurate mental clock, scale, or ruler. He couldn't perform complex calculations in his head...

In Jim's head there was an early fascination with Terran wolves. These memories were very clear to Spock. Although smarter than the domesticated dog, wolves could not read human facial expressions. They could learn, to some extent, but they would never be as adept as their mentally challenged cousins who emerged from the womb with the innate ability. Spock understood that human empathy was a variable trait, but the body he'd inherited from Jim Kirk seemed to have it in spades.

As a Vulcan Spock had been a wolf. Now he was...a dog. He was sure his wife would say in more ways than one.

She was still his wife. Wasn't she? Spock leaned forward on impulse to brush his lips to hers; she turned away and he caught her cheek instead.

Pulling back, he swallowed, opened his mouth before any words had formed in his mind -

- And was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"It's him," said Nyota.

Spock didn't need to ask who.

The knock came again, louder. The hinges actually creaked.

"He's going to break the door," said Nyota.

Spock concurred. Pushing quickly to his feet, he shouted, "Hold on, Jim."

There was another loud thump in reply.

Spock had just had his hand on Nyota's knee, had just _kissed_ her.

The word for excrement filtered through Spock's consciousness in six different languages.

The door rattled in its frame.

"I'm not touching her, Jim. Ease up," said Spock approaching the entrance. He heard feet on the other side drawing back.

Opening the portal he found Jim pacing a meter away, hands behind his back. Spock felt Nyota at his shoulder.

Swinging around to face them both, Jim said in a hiss, "I, apparently, am monogamous."

x x x x x

Jim stared at the body that used to be his, and at Nyota's head peeking over his shoulder.

_It's alright, nothing happened_, Nyota said across the bond.

Jim trembled in frustration. Really, his presence had nothing to do with that...right?

Over the past week he'd done his best to close the bond, to give Nyota and Spock some privacy, and him as well. It was a lonely existence. He felt cut off from his fellow humans, and he still thought about Nyota constantly. And her thoughts still trickled through. He could not force his mind to let her go. The bond was like an old spigot he couldn't quite turn off.

His body was in on his brain's devious machinations. He dreamed of her and woke with reminders of his body's longing. And then there was the urge to bite her every time he saw her. Like now. Damn Vulcan obsessive compulsive territorial marking behaviors.

There had been one consolation - Janice. She was insanely driven in this universe, just as the other, but now her focus was helping Jim get his body _back_. They'd worked all week together. She was the only person he'd felt comfortable touching him - and consequently she was the only human he felt he remotely understood. He had grown to appreciate her more and more - her dedication was admirable, her mind was fascinating, and on a purely intellectual level he could appreciate that she was very attractive, and desirable.

This evening she'd attempted to comfort him, one thing had led to another...and then had led nowhere. In his Vulcan body he could control his heart rate, even his metabolism, but the one thing he wanted to work -

And in the meantime Spock was making advances on Ny - Uhura.

How long was he going to be trapped here, alone in this body, unable to reach for what his mind and body craved, and unable to connect with anyone else either?

Jim felt his nostrils flare. Glaring at Spock's blue eyes he said, "You spent the entirety of your youth whoring around - with a much colder attitude than I ever had, I might add, but when I come into possession of your body, I am bonded."

There were reasons bonded was another word for enslaved.

"You couldn't even wait a week?" said Uhura.

Jim blinked at her. _Come on, Uhura, you do not believe that this will be fixed tomorrow. _The words flew from his mind to hers. He didn't even think of opening his mouth.

_No._ Uhura replied in kind. _And_ _it is not fair to you_.

He felt her sadness, and was instantly sorry for...for everything.

Not privy to their silent conversation, Spock said, "If you are attempting to diminish Nyota's regard for me by bringing up my past, it won't work. She already knows."

Jim tilted his head. Was he trying to do that?

Crossing his arms over his chest, Spock said, "But if we're going to discuss dubious extracurricular activities, might I remind you of your adventure on Limenois Prime a month ago?"

Uh-oh. Jim went green as the memory flittered through his mind...and across the bond.

Uhura gasped.

Straightening himself, Jim said, "I did. Not. Know. About. The snake."

"Uh-huh," said Spock, arms going down to his sides, fists clenched.

"Argh! Both of you!" shouted Uhura, spinning and disappearing into the shelter.

Spock spun around after her, not bothering to shut the door.

Jim stood for a moment outside, and then followed them in.

**A/N:  
**The snake line, too crack tastic? I've been wanting to write that for MONTHS.

If you read and enjoyed (or didn't) please leave a review!


	10. Stuck in Between

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom, I couldn't do this without her. Check out her latest "What We Think We Know" in my faves. It's her best yet I think.

**Stuck In Between**

Nyota could feel her body temperature escalate, her vision tunnel.

Watching the two of them go after each other like, well...the word children didn't _quite_ fit the topic of the conversation. She wanted to smack them both upside the head.

Swinging around she headed into the shelter.

They both were both confused and hurting, but damn it, she was confused and hurt, too. Striding into the bedroom, she threw herself face first onto the bed and swore into a pillow.

She had reservations about rooming with Human-Spock. She wasn't even sure he _was_ Spock. Vulcan-Jim had insisted. Despite that insistence, the Vulcan'shurt and loneliness had buzzed quietly across the bond all week. Vulcan-Jim just wasn't as good at hiding what he was thinking as Vulcan Spock had been. And Human-Spock, well, she could see how much her lack of affection hurt him. His emotions were writ large all over his face.

But what was she supposed to do? If the reverse swap was successful, would the territorial animal within the Vulcan feel betrayed? Was sleeping back to back already too much?

Somehow she knew whatever she chose to do was going to come back to bite her later.

She could hear Jim - no, Human-Spock's footsteps behind her and felt Vulcan-Jim enter the house.

_I am causing problems between you and Spock._

It came across the bond.

Nyota huffed into the pillow. _Ya think?_

The feeling that welled across the Spock Channel was so plaintive, so sorry, indeed, so childlike. A little more slipped through the bond - a fear. _I am endangering your marriage._

Nyota sighed. _It will be alright_. She was tougher than this. Her marriage was tougher than this. If Spock had a stroke that altered his personality, she wouldn't abandon him. At least he had a mind now. She just wasn't quite sure where it was.

"Nyota?" said Human-Spock.

"At least neither of you is dead," Nyota said.

The bed sagged as Human-Spock sat down. "Pardon?" he said.

"It's what I tell myself when I'm trying to look on the bright side," said Nyota.

A hand, too light and cool to be Vulcan, gently stroked her shoulder.

A familiar growl sounded behind her.

"Would you please give us some privacy!" Human-Spock said.

The growl increased in volume. Nyota could feel her stomach twist as Vulcan-Jim's intellect warred with his body's territorial instincts.

"Jim!" said Human-Spock.

"Leave him alone!" said Nyota.

The growl stopped.

The hand left her shoulder. Nyota turned to see Human-Spock on the edge of the bed, hands now on his thighs. He licked his lips. His jaw was tight. It struck her that he was about to bolt. Grabbing his hand, she said, "Don't go."

The growl started again and a wave of anger, hurt and loneliness flooded the bond.

Human-Spock shot the Vulcan a death glare.

_Damn it. I apologize, I cannot help it. _Thought Vulcan-Jim, even as the growl increased in volume.

"You stay, too," said Nyota, turning over and sitting up.

Vulcan-Jim tilted his head in a way that was so familiar it made Nyota forget he was Jim for an instant.

Patting the bed on the opposite side from Spock she said, "Sit down." It wasn't like there was going to be any romantic action for any of them tonight, and she couldn't bear to feel him hurt just now. It was too much on top of her own confusion and loneliness.

Vulcan-Jim didn't need much prompting. He sat down right away, at first prim and proper at the edge of the bed. And then he seemed to remember himself. He turned and let his back fall against the headrest, folded his hands across his stomach and looked away from both her and Spock.

"Umm..." said Human-Spock.

Nyota turned to him. "What?"

Human-Spock licked his lips. "Umm..."

Squeezing his hand she said, "What is it?"

Licking his lips, Spock said, "Is this going to turn into a three-some thing?"

Nyota's jaw dropped. "Spock!"

Vulcan-Jim started to growl.

"Not that I am interested in a threesome...I was just..." Spock scratched the back of his head in a way that was very Jim Kirk. Pointing a finger at the Vulcan he said, "It's his brain."

Nyota's eyes narrowed, "What -"

The growling stopped. "No," said Vulcan-Jim, "he does have a point."

Nyota dropped onto the bed and pulled a pillow over her eyes.

The bed creaked. She heard Human-Spock by her ear. "Don't worry, tomorrow everything will be fixed."

Nyota's doubts flooded her mind. Her translation work suggested there was another room where the "awakening" was undone – another room that had not been found yet.

"You are being 'infernally optimistic, again," said Vulcan-Jim. "I believe that the odds of failure are close to eighty -"

"That information does not help us," said Human-Spock.

Nyota snapped. "Please, both of you -"

"I know," said Vulcan-Jim. "But when I hear someone say something illogical I just cannot stop myself."

"You know," said Human-Spock, "I...kind of...forgot about that," She felt him settling next to her, his chest next to her side.

Wait. Were Jim and Spock starting to lay off each other?

"Your human brain," said Human-Spock, "forgets everything that isn't related to -"

" - just stop," said Nyota.

There was a moment of blessed silence.

Pushing the pillow off of her face, she said, "You're making me crazy going after each other all the time." And damn it, she felt her eyes begin to well up.

A cool light hand slipped around her waist. Human-Spock pressed his forehead against the side of her head. "Well, we can't have you out of your mind, too."

She felt the growl rising in Vulcan-Jim. Reaching out she grabbed a too-hot hand. _He's you. You're him. We've got you here to be chaperon and I could use a hug right now - and so could he, and probably you. So just. Please. Stop._

The growl died before it reached his throat. Vulcan-Jim squeezed her hand, the familiar heat of his body radiating on her side. Human-Spock gently squeezed the arm draped over her waist.

Nyota sighed. Somewhere in between the two of them with her was her husband.

x x x x

Jim watched as his human form put a hand on Janice Lester's shoulder. Janice was staring at the ground.

"Thank you," said Human-Spock. "You did the best you could."

They were outside of the crystal chamber. Nyota had a hand over her mouth. She wasn't crying, but he felt her heart sinking. Human-Spock went over and grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest. Jim felt a pang flare in his mind. He did his best to block it.

M'Benga and Bones were scanning their tricorders and shaking their heads. Something dark welled up in Jim. He wanted to go back into the room and throw his body against the honeycomb crystal walls, break them all into shards.

He took a deep breath and turned in that direction.

"Jim," said Bones.

Jim turned to see Bones and Janice staring at him.

If he said anything, he was going to explode. Turning quickly he strode quickly away from the humans.

"Jim," said Janice.

He felt Nyota trying to reach across the bond too.

"Leave him alone," he heard Spock say. "He needs to...collect himself."

He was right, and Jim was grateful. At his porta shelter he half pulled the door off the hinges. Striding inside he picked up the first piece of furniture, a small end table, and heaved it against the wall. It shattered with a bang.

The comm rang, and a monitor beeped from across the room. For a moment Jim contemplated breaking them both, and then he felt an odd calm begin to work its way past his anger. A sturdier presence.

Jim closed his eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath he opened them and clicked the comm to pipe the signal to the monitor.

Sarek's face came on. "It did not work," said the Vulcan.

The bond between them felt neutral. No despair. No anger. Only...determination. Because...because it was not logical to give up...and being illogical only slowed the chances for resolution. Jim felt this, felt logic saving him from his anger.

He took another deep breath. "No, it did not. I am...stuck here for a while."

**A/N:**

Sorry for the slow update. When you can only write 15 minutes a day rewrites are disasters!

This story has taken a turn for the angsty. I turned the genre to hurt/comfort friendship.

If you read and enjoyed, please leave a review!


	11. On the Edge

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. If you haven't checked out her latest, "What We Think We Know" you're missing out. It is her best fic yet.

**On the Edge**

If Sarek felt any anger at Jim for inhabiting the body that belonged to his son, he did not show it. Not in his features. Not across the bond they shared. It was a relief and intimidating in equal measure.

Sarek would not have heaved furniture across the room. Nor would he have given in to a fit of rage on the deck of the Enterprise. He was everything Spock wanted to be, that his human control would not allow. It put the distance between father and son in a new light.

Jim felt his head tilt in that Spock-ish way of its own accord. He had no inner turmoil over Spock's body's lack of control. He could just be grateful for the help.

"Lieutenant Uhura's research suggests there is another room where these...swaps...were undone. The logical thing is to search for it.

"The research team has discovered that some of the crystals here actually hold data. They've discovered several hundred thousand pages worth of writing. It is possible there is a clue there."

Or not.

Jim bowed his head. The denizens of this planet had vanished thousands of years ago. The room could have been destroyed. And even if it existed, it could take a Vulcan lifetime to uncover it. His mind raced ahead. A Vulcan lifetime. Spock was 34...in a year he'd undergo pon farr. And apparently this body sought only one mate...

Never before in his life had Jim looked on the prospect of unbridled sex with foreboding.

"_Jim," _said Sarek, _"In Spock's body do you have Vulcan language processing abilities?"_

Jim lifted his head sharply. Sarek had just used a very rare Andorian dialect. And he'd understood.

"Apparently, yes," said Sarek. "How long will you have before the interim captain arrives?"

"A day at most," said Jim biting back a fresh tide of anger.

"Will you have access to the Enterprise's scanners before then?" asked Sarek.

"Yes," Jim said. He put his hands behind his back. This new wave of anger would not overcome him.

"I estimate that there is a 85% chance that this new technology will be classified as a weapon," Sarek said.

Jim tilted his head. If that happened this area would become classified. To be given access everyone would need to receive security clearance. He wasn't sure if Spock and he would be granted it in their present forms - much less the researchers and scientists stationed here now. If anything, the current Camus II facility was understaffed...

"It will go to hearing before that happens," said Jim.

Sarek nodded. "Get Spock and Nyota. Let us make a plan."

x x x x

"Jim," Spock whispered into a pointed ear, "remind me again; did we get all the scans?"

They were aboard the ship in a reception for the Enterprise's new Captain, Catherine Soderberg, a.k.a. Number One.

"Yes," said Jim. He blinked. "You could use a PADD to keep notes."

"Your Vulcan brain is more convenient, Jim," said Janice.

"You have feet," said Nyota from between them. "And are easier to spot in a crowd."

"So that is Number One," said Dr. McCoy gazing at the woman in command yellow a few yards away talking with Scotty.

"She is quite striking," said Janice.

McCoy tilted his head. "I'll say. I don't know, Jim...she seems to have some qualifications that you don't have." He licked his lips, and drawled, "Do you think she'd be interested in a man with a Southern -"

"No," said Jim, Spock and Nyota in unison.

Spock caught Janice eyeing them strangely. He shrugged.

At that moment Number One turned around. She looked at the four of them. Spock noticed that her eyes lingered just a little too long on Janice and Nyota. With a nod at him, One strode over.

Spock licked his lips. Number One striding in uniform somehow managed to be as alluring as another woman slinking in an ornate negligee. He flushed, cast a sidelong gaze at Nyota, and then blinked. She hadn't heard that mental musing. No wonder humans didn't telepathically bond. If she heard all of his thoughts...

Stopping in front of the four of them, One looked hard at Spock. "Spock?" she said.

"Yes," said Spock. It was good to see her alive and well. They'd been through a lot together. She was one of the few people who hadn't been intimidated by him. They were frequent chess partners, and she'd felt comfortable enough with him to tease him from time to time.

One tilted her head. "I don't think I've gotten used to your new look."

"You are not the only one," said Spock.

One turned to Jim, "Don't worry Captain, I know you will get this sorted out. And I will take good care of your ship while you do."

Spock hoped Jim hadn't accessed the memories where Spock and Pike had pondered the distinct possibility that Number One had a death wish. Was it too much to wish that her recent brushes with death had tempered that tendency?

Number One looked at Nyota and stepped forward, just a few centimeters too close. "Of course, I will miss having the assistance of Starfleet's number one communications officer."

Nope. She still had the death wish. And yet in this new form her advances put interesting ideas in Spock's borrowed brain.

Nyota smiled tightly.

McCoy blinked.

Janice's lips were forming a small O of comprehension.

Jim edged closer to Nyota.

Spock heard a familiar rumble rising. Repressing a sigh and taking Nyota's hand, Spock said, "Restrain yourself, One." He turned to the former captain. "Jim, stop growling."

x x x x

Jim stared at the map in his porta-shelter. It was 05:00.

It had been two months. Janice's team had begun excavating two of ten suspected sites. Going was tortuously slow. They could not possibly finish all the excavations in one year.

He blinked wearily at some translations he had on a PADD. They looked like gibberish.

The dehumidifier in his porta-shelter clicked, hummed, and clicked again. Jim walked over and rammed a fist on top. It began to hum again. Camus II's summer had begun. The heat was welcome, the moisture in the air was not. Jim felt like he had a constant cold, like he was breathing under water, and he was constantly fighting athlete's foot and other fungal infections.

It was not logical to try to remain awake. In exasperation he went over to the bed and collapsed. Sleep was logical. He let himself sigh. But to sleep, perchance to dream. His eyes closed anyway.

x x x x

Spock, Vulcan-Spock, put his lips to the curve of Nyota's neck. She felt his need in the blackness in the bond between them, and in the hardness pressed against her belly.

Long hot dry fingers threaded into her hair and pulled her head back. His mind whispered into hers, _When we first met at that bar in Iowa, who would have thought it would have worked out like this?_

Bar? Iowa? Wait. No.

Her eyes shot open. The early light of Camus II filtered into the room. The porta shelter's air conditioning unit hummed. Camus II's summer had begun with a vengeance. Even with the cooling unit the room was still too hot and muggy, which is why the sheets around Nyota were damp - well, mostly why. Groaning softly, Nyota rolled onto her side and curled into a ball. She was helplessly turned on...and, oh damn it. The bond was still open. How much had Vulcan-Jim seen? She didn't even want to look. She did her best to close the bond, gave a sigh, and looked at the clock - 06:00.

Cursing all the earwax covered q-tips on Ferrengi, she hopped out of bed and headed to the sanitary cubicle. She was late.

Without thinking she pulled open the door and came face to face with the body of Jim Kirk wearing...only a towel, sort of. He was using it to dry his hair. Her eyes went down of their own volition. She swallowed. Looked up. Blue eyes met hers.

With a small gasp she shut the door. But it wasn't James T. Kirk in there. It was Spock, in human form. Because it wasn't just her dreams that were messed up.

She had to go to work, and this was silly and stupid. She should just get over it; things could stay this way for quite some time.

Nodding to herself, she opened the door. Human-Spock turned from where he was brushing his teeth and nodded at her. The towel was now around his waist, but that still left rather a lot of exposed skin. And if Nyota thought about it, it was rather nice exposed skin.

Don't think about it. Head to the shower.

And take off your clothes? She hadn't stripped in front of Spock since the "awakening," as Camus II's ancient denizens called it. She changed in the bathroom or the closet. After seeing her do it, he did likewise. It was like the time she'd gone on a road trip to Johannesburg with her brother, only tense and not fun.

Why not change in front of him? It wasn't like he hadn't seen it before. Couldn't they at least be comfortable around one another, even if they didn't...they couldn't...

She pulled her night shirt over her head. Heard Spock rinsing his mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said looking down at the shirt now in her hands, wearing only an oversize pair of his boxers and a bra.

Sorry for what? For bursting in on him? For how horribly awkward this all was? For hurting him - because she _knew_ it hurt him that she wasn't affectionate. In his mind they were still husband and wife. What about in her mind?

"There is no need to apologize," he said softly. Nyota raised her head. Over the past two months Vulcan Jim had taken on more human mannerisms, and Human Spock had taken on more Vulcan. She knew it was by conscious choice. But Vulcan Jim still didn't smile, or couldn't smile really, or laugh. And Human Spock couldn't stop himself.

He smiled now, a little. It was a soft smile. A nice smile. Kind of comforting, actually. And they were so close. She almost wanted to kiss him. Just for being so understanding, for putting up with her confusion, with her feelings that she was betraying -

Was she betraying anyone?

"It is alright, Nyota," he said.

Nyota sat down hard on the seat of the commode.

"Is it alright?" she said. She sighed. "I just feel that every moment I'm with you - well, if you switch back, your logical half will understand, but that other part of you..."

Human Spock tilted his head in a Spockish way. Did he practice in a mirror?

"I'm sure all parts of me will just be happy to have you back, Nyota."

If he'd said it in his other body, it might have come out sounding just like a fact. But in Jim's body - it came out nearly a whisper and so full of sincerity, sadness and longing. With a Vulcan, you could forget just how much tone of voice could convey.

Human Spock leaned forward, almost imperceptibly. And then he turned to the mirror and put his hands on either side of the sink, as though he was trying to hold himself up - or hold himself together.

Lifting his head and looking in the mirror he said, "Jim's hair is getting long." He ran his hands through the dirty blonde locks and then began rummaging through the medicine cabinet.

Nyota looked at her knees and began to unfasten the clip of her bra.

"I do not know...What do you think?" Spock said.

Nyota looked up. He'd brushed the shaggy bangs down in an approximation of the Vulcan traditional cut. Of course in this body it refused to lay flat or straight and it really didn't fit Jim's slightly battered good looks anyway. It was ridiculous, and despite herself she puffed out a laugh. For a moment he'd felt like he was real, himself and hers despite the smiles and the inflection in his voice.

Human Spock smiled. "I'll get out of your way," he said gripping the towel.

He was out the door before she had a chance to tell him to stay. The tiny room suddenly felt large and very empty.

x x x x

Jim woke up with a start. His body was wet. His thoughts were black. Nyota was gone - no, she was still there. He took a deep breath.

He was losing her. To Spock.

No, wait. That was what he wanted. He took several deep breaths and tried to quell a sense of rising panic.

He blinked. He would see her in less than an hour.

**A/N:**

**Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my American readers. To all my readers south of the equator experiencing spring right now…Wish I was there!**

**Closing in on the end here! If you read and enjoyed, please leave a review!**


	12. Heat

**Disclaimer:** I don't own. I don't profit…unless Abrams wants to contact me. Mr. Abrams, are you out there? I'll write for you, I will, I will…

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. She tells me she has another chapter of "What We Think We Know" in the works. It is fantastic, and I can't wait to read it. Check it out in my faves!

**Heat**

"...so although everything is on schedule," Spock said.

"You do not currently have the resources to assure that it is fast enough," said Sarek across the subspace channel. Spock recognized one of the embassy rooms on Earth behind his father. Sarek had gone to Terra to delay a hearing on the security status of Camus II's technology and had succeeded - hopefully indefinitely.

In the portion of the monitor that showed his image inset in Sarek's, he saw a look of concern on Jim Kirk's face - no his face. If his father noticed the concern he did not comment.

Spock swallowed. This morning with Nyota, he'd warred with himself. He wanted her. In all ways. He knew the dilemma she faced. He understood how she felt like she was betraying him by being with him. And yet -

He wanted reassurance. He needed to know that she still loved him in this form or any other. That it wasn't just the bond that held them together.

He took a breath. "I was wondering, Father. Perhaps it would be better if the bond between Nyota and my...body...were severed."

Sarek's face remained impassive. "I would advise against it so early. Breaking the bond will leave scarring. Even if you resume the bond with Nyota later, I do not know that the scars will heal."

"But..."

"I speak from experience," Sarek said.

Spock felt himself straighten. He had not known. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a chiming on Sarek's end. His father tilted his head. "That is the Josef; I must meet with him."

"Of course," Spock said. Josef was human, one of his father's closest friends, but Spock felt a bit of bitterness that Sarek would abandon him just now.

Sarek stared at the screen a moment more. It struck Spock that his father did not know what to say.

"Live long and prosper, Father," he said.

Sarek blinked. "And you."

Ending the transmission abruptly, Spock pushed himself to his feet and made his way out the porta-shelter's door.

The humidity of Camus II's summer hit him like a wave. Even in his human form he found it uncomfortable, like breathing under water. He could imagine the physical problems it was causing Jim in his Vulcan form.

Spock made his way across the camp towards the tent where he had set up a workshop to study the crystals in more detail. On the way he passed by the shelter where Nyota was meeting with Vulcan Jim. They were going to go over the data in some new crystals they'd uncovered near the site of the original "awakening," or "transposing" as Spock had begun to think of it.

The doors and windows of the shelter were all open. He remembered Nyota had complained about the air conditioning unit going on the blink. He thought about going in and saying hello. He was almost in the door when he heard his voice, or the voice of his old body, speaking in an alien language he couldn't identify. Out of his line of sight Nyota laughed and responded in the same language.

Spock paused. A moment of uncertainty filled him, but he shook it away. He knew Jim Kirk; more to the point, he knew his mind. Despite his many sexual transgressions Jim was loyal; he wouldn't become involved with the partner of a friend. What was more, Kirk was oddly conservative when it came to marriage. Jim took it very seriously, viewed it even as sacrosanct; he wouldn't knowingly have a liaison with anyone who was married.

Jim said something more in another language. Nyota said something back and laughed.

Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, Spock walked across the camp towards the workshop.

X X X X

"_And-then-Vornag-declared-he-was-the-fertilizer-of-Shenak's-10,000-maggots, breaking three of Shenella's-four-hearts..." _Jim was simultaneously translating the data to Cardassian - a language Nyo-Uhura, Lieutenant Uhura, knew well, and reading it back at breakneck speeds, so it was barely recognizable.

Uhura laughed. There really was nothing wrong with making her laugh, was there? He'd lost the ability to laugh when he switched bodies, but he could feel her laughing across the bond and it was _exquisite._

Nyota said with a smile, _"I don't think it literally translates to _'hearts;'_ that is a human idiom of _European_ origin-"_

"_You may be right. The organs in question might be more analogous to livers,"_ said Jim. _"Meanwhile-Wernak-Vornag's-identical-nest-mate's..."_

"Okay, stop," said Uhura, in Standard. "That's enough. Ancient Camus II soap operas are hilarious, but they aren't relevant."

"But you love alien soap operas. I know about the Romulan holosphere your brother Jabari gave you," said Jim. "And how fascinating it was..."

"You also know how much trouble it caused," said Nyota.

Not heeding her, Jim went on, _"...maggots-had-lost-suitable-source-of-decay. Cerniak-went-to-the-dung-heaps-of-"_

"Stop it, Spock!"

Jim looked up, had Spock entered the room?

A wave of cold crossed the bond. He looked at Nyota. Her face had gone slack.

No, she had confused him with Spock.

"Let's get back to work," she said, head bending over her PADD. An image flickered like a will o' wisp across the bond - him in a bathroom facing a mirror, knuckles white from gripping the edges of the sink. Attraction. Affection. Longing.

And then the bond snapped closed.

For a moment Jim was disorientated, and then he realized it was an image from this morning he was seeing. The man was Spock in Jim's body. There was so much good material there. It would be so opportune to flash a smile - or what passed for a smile in this body, and say something like, "Not bad for a hick who does it with farm animals?"

But something dark was uncoiling in his core and he couldn't form the words. He did his best to stifle the bond and looked down at the PADD in his hand.

x x x x

Nyota's ponytail hung damp and slack against her neck. The porta-shelter's wall's radiated heat. She tried to focus on the PADD in front of her and found it nearly impossible. Jim was working on extracting more data from a crystal using the one device they'd uncovered for that purpose. It looked like a centrifuge and was set into the ground; the shelter had been erected over top of it.

There was a soft whir. Light flashed from the top of the crystal to the ceiling. Jim slipped a scanner above it and downloaded the data to a PADD. Nyota scanned it. "I think it is accounting records...yes, I'm sure."

"I concur. Useless."

Jim took the crystal out quickly and set it down too heavily. The bond was still closed after that awkward moment early in the day; she didn't feel what he felt; but she didn't need a telepathic connection to know how frustrated he was. She was frustrated and disappointed, too. And the humidity and inescapable heat seemed to amplify every set back.

"That is the last one from that batch," said Jim. "We have been at this for seven hours and..." he tilted his head, "over forty-five minutes. It is time for a break. I am going swimming at the quarry."

Nyota blinked. The bottom of the quarry had filled with water during the summer rains. Many of the scientists had taken to swimming there. As a human Jim liked swimming. She often bumped into him at the lap pool on the Enterprise. And she enjoyed it, too. She'd been to the quarry a few times with Janice and the others; however, "You won't like the water, Jim. Not in your present form." His body was too dense.

"I'll just have to swim harder," he said, walking with ramrod posture towards the door.

"You can't go alone," she said. "It is foolish."

"Technically, I can go alone," he said stepping out of the building.

Nyota looked at her PADD, rolled her eyes, and then followed him.

x x x x

Spock stood back from the crystal cutter and wiped sweat and dust off his hands. The tent offered shade, but the heat and humidity were still oppressive. After eight hours and change he was tired, hot, dirty, and damp. He placed the crystal under the laser knife, set some controls, and stepped back.

While Nyota and Jim searched for old technical manuals, Janice and her team were on digs. Spock was pursuing other lines of inquiry. He needed to know how the crystal actually worked. Now he was creating a crystal piece from scratch, following up on a hunch that the crystals operated by focusing the energy of cosmic rays. The energy he suspected was used to create a magnetic field in the brains that were transposed, and then other cosmic particles read and wrote to the brains soft tissues by interactions with that field.

A light flashed. He watched it as the laser began it's tortuously slow work.

Stepping back he turned to a table where he had twelve PADDs lined up in three neat rows. His "brain" laid out for easy access. Without his memory, he needed such devices as aids.

Now he flipped through several of them. Looking at a map of the sites where the Enterprise's scanners had picked up the crystals, he sighed. They had to find the other room. He gazed over briefly at the laser. His work was so preliminary. And one researcher, human or Vulcan, wasn't enough.

Shaking his head, he looked at the PADD. He tapped his finger on one of the sites. Could this be all of them? What if it weren't? What if there were more, or something they had overlooked? He put the PADD down hard on the table and wiped his eyes. If only he could escape this heat for a little bit.

Outside the tent some scientists walked by with towels over their necks, their hair wet and in disarray. They must have been swimming in the quarry. Spock put his hands on his hips. Normally he did not like swimming. In his Vulcan form he sank like a stone. But he knew Jim liked swimming.

Spock had been trying to take advantage of this new form in little ways. Back at the porta-shelter there was a stash of milk chocolates that as a Vulcan he would have found intoxicating and irresistible; however, in this human body he found he could take it or leave it. Nyota declared that it was because it was milk chocolate, and the only real chocolate was the dark kind.

Nyota liked swimming...he could ask her to join him. They needed something they could do together now that languages were lost to them.

With one last look at the laser he headed out from under the tent's welcoming shade towards the porta-shelter language lab. When he got there it was empty. Spock tapped his fingers against the doorframe for a few moments. He was grimy, hot and sweaty. It was foolish, but he headed towards the quarry alone.

**A/N:**

I'm writing without a net here! The next chapters will be difficult to make "work"…it would be prudent to wait to post this. But like Jim & Spock I'm feeling foolish.

Reviews are the only way fan-fiction authors get paid. If you read and enjoyed please leave a review!


	13. Drowning

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. I'm nominating her "What We Think Know" for lots of stuff on the newly posted Spock Uhura awards. It's her best story yet, check it out in my faves.

**Drowning**

At the quarry Jim stripped down to his boxer briefs without looking backwards. He heard Nyo- Uhura behind him on the bank.

The quarry pool was shaped like a rough rectangle. One edge was a gentle gradient of rocks and gravel that had spilled into the quarry's center. The other edges were steep walls of stone.

Jim walked down the slope and dove into the water as soon as it cleared his hips. Spock's Vulcan body was denser and longer than Jim was accustomed to, and this body didn't have the same memory of swimming as it did walking, or running, or putting hands behind its back - but Jim was an excellent swimmer and had memory enough to spare.

Jim propelled himself into the deep end - where the water was colder and just above two meters. He was vaguely aware of Uhura nearby. He focused on the feel of chill coursing over his skin and tasted the scant drops that made it into his mouth - sweet and pure, unlike the water in the lap pool on his ship...

...his ship that Number One was the captain of now, off doing God knows what.

He swam harder. He swam until he couldn't think anymore beyond slicing one hand after another into the water and lifting his head to gulp oxygen, until his muscles were exhausted. And then, when his mind was sufficiently clear, he did what he always did; he rolled onto his back.

He stared up at Camus II's bubble gum pink sky as his momentum carried him along, took a deep breath, and suddenly he was inhaling liquid as a veil of water washed over his eyes.

Time stood still. At once his mind was registering how lovely the sky looked through the prism of water and screaming to reach the surface. His arms flailed laterally, his legs reached for purchase, and his head pushed upwards through the glassy wall. He coughed, sputtered, and sank back down again.

His arms seemed to have a mind of their own. They wouldn't move to propel him in any direction but up. A small part of his mind noted that the Instinctive Drowning Response was the same in Vulcans and Humans.

He didn't panic, but he _felt_ panic.

Cool slick hands worked their way under his arms and pulled him backwards - less than half a meter, but it was enough. His heels struck stone and his head pierced the surface. The arms continued to try and pull him backwards up the slope.

Setting his feet firmly into the bottom, he coughed and gasped until his lungs were clear. The panic that wasn't his subsided. There was _exasperation_ now. He became aware of sound - splashing water, and the feel of only one arm around him. He slipped out of the arm's hold and turned to find Uhura, long tendrils of hair plastered to her face, treading water madly.

"I am not your personal floatation device, Jim!"

She was angry...but the bond was wide open. He could feel just how worried she had been. It was terribly endearing.

...and she was very tired. She was too light and too small to pull him effectively. She'd used all her strength to help him.

He felt something dark well within him. An emotion he'd felt the edges of before...

Nyota gasped. "We better go," she said pushing herself backwards in the water.

She was really very tired. He was concerned; he couldn't let her come to harm. Moving forward he grabbed an arm and reeled her in so the other was around her waist. "Catch your breath."

Tugging in his grasp she said, "Jim, let me go." She was getting worried. He felt it. His touch bothered her. Why was she concerned? She was afraid of him. Why? His vision was becoming darker. The sky, the water - everything began to fade away. It was just him and her, and even though she was only wearing her underwear - as was he - his thoughts weren't sexual now. Not entirely...it was more...protective? The world went even blacker as the strange emotion overwhelmed him. It wasn't just love, or lust, or a protective instinct; it was all this and more - an alien thing there were no words for.

He would never hurt her; he had to let her know. With one hand he reached up and wiped a long strand of hair off her face. She tried to pull away and his hand...fell...yes...fell into the position of the mind meld.

Jim's eyes closed, Nyota's too, he felt it. If he had to describe the sensation he would say it was closest to that feeling he had when his body first joined with another in sex - that same feeling of completion, vertigo, and _rightness_.

Because their bodies and minds belonged together, didn't they? His eyes flickered open, he gazed at her skin so flawless and unmarked - and that flawlessness, that she was unmarked, was a flaw. His jaw clenched.

_Jim, let me go! This isn't you. _She said this, even as he could feel her attraction to him, or this emotion he had, this overwhelming urge to be joined in all ways.

She struggled in his arms, and he felt her mind struggling too. An image of Spock in human form flickered through her consciousness.

No! That was wrong, she shouldn't think of him.

A knowledge that belonged to this body hit him. He could make her not think of that other male. The strongest telepath always won. It was just a matter of him willing her to stop...

An icy wave of fear shot through him. Was it his, or Uhura's - it was both of theirs and it sliced through that alien feeling that had just engulfed him.

Jim was many things, promiscuous, a "playboy", but he was not - a rapist. Because that's what he had been contemplating, wasn't it? Mental rape. He began to hyperventilate. He wanted to let go, but found that his hands were shaking too much to control.

His forehead fell against hers. "Uhura, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I would not, I will not...What is happening?"

She was still afraid. "I know, I know, I know. Just let me go, Jim, just let me go."

How had he just nearly become something that he despised at every level of his being? Why couldn't he move his hands?

And he knew. This body possessed Vulcan emotions, but only human control. It was his - Spock's - central tragedy.

"It's a Vulcan, thing, Jim. You couldn't have been prepared for it."

No a half-Vulcan thing. He tried to move his arms and just shook.

Uhura hadn't been prepared for it either - not for what just happened.

_It's okay, Jim, it's okay. _

His grip slackened. Her arms free, she put her hands behind her back and gently began to extricate herself - he couldn't do it on his own.

_Thank you, Uhura._

_It's okay, Jim, it's okay. _She pulled the arms out from around her, as his forehead remained against hers.

"What is going on here!" The voice rose from the shore and echoed across the water.

"Spock," Uhura said. It was almost a whimper.

**A/N:**

Whew! Kind of a hard chapter there. Good? Bad? Please leave a comment and let me know!


	14. Joy

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to Beta Notes from the Classroom. Check out her excellent "What We Think We Know" in my faves for major UST!

**Joy**

Uhura turned towards the bank. Jim lifted his head.

Jim watched his body animated by Spock's consciousness. The brows were drawn together. He put his fists on his hips, then lifted a hand, waved it down, turned and walked quickly away.

"Spock!" Uhura said. He felt her comprehension. They'd been dismissed.

His stomach felt empty and hollow - or was that her?

_We must follow him; we must explain, _Jim thought. And then thought, explain what? I almost violated your wife?

Uhura put a hand in the air in front of him. _Stay here. I need to do this._

Jim watched her swim through the water and then run up the bank. She slipped on her clothes and the sandals she'd been wearing the past few weeks, and ran down the path Spock had taken.

For a moment Jim remained in the water's chill embrace, but then he made his way to the bank.

He didn't return to the camp. Instead he sat, back to the sun, and stared out at the water.

He did not think he would ever be able to express his grief, his regret, at what he had done - almost done. He was straightforward, honest in his dealings with friends and partners. He was repelled by people who were otherwise, and yet - almost -

The logical part of him understood, that in a sense it had not been him who had made the transgression.

The Camus II technology only affected those parts of the brain that dealt with conscious memories, the prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus. Which made sense. Start overlaying the information from the parts of the body responsible for unconscious functioning and you could wind up distorting basic functions like breathing and heart beat - especially if you were moving information from one species to another.

The bond infested—at that moment he was certain infested was the right word—all parts of the Vulcan brain, including the very primitive brain stem. And it was that very primitive part that Jim had acted on - almost acted on.

Jim swallowed. He should have been able to control it better. His "self" was not just this body. He was James T. Kirk, he believed he was James T. Kirk -

He closed his eyes, took a breath. Opening his eyes he stared out at the water. Would Spock and Nyota's relationship recover? Damage to their marriage would be as painful for him as losing their friendship. He didn't have parental role models for successful relationships; Bones wasn't any help. Spock and Uhura...were hope.

If he had destroyed that...

The water looked cool and inviting. If he had drowned there would be no misunderstandings, no conflict...

And if he ended it all now they'd understand the depth of his regret.

He started at what he was contemplating. In all his years, in all that had happened to him, he had never contemplated suicide.

He closed his eyes. This was not his body. He had to take care of it. He should move away from the quarry immediately.

But he didn't move. He pulled his legs up to his center in lotus position – it was very comfortable for him in Spock's body, and did his best to close the bond with Nyota. He could feel her emotional exhaustion. He was exhausted too.

Exactly 3.53 hours later Janice found him in that same position.

He recognized her footsteps immediately among a set of two others.

"Jim," she said. He turned around and nodded at her and her companions. The two scientists she was with began stripping off their clothes, but she didn't.

"Hey," she said coming up next to him and sitting down. "How's it going?"

She was, on an intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional level still very attractive to him, but he couldn't act on his desires. Bloody Vulcan physiology. "Nothing is going," he said.

The two other scientists began splashing into the water.

Janice took one of his hands. He tried to hold back his emotions, but he must not have been successful. Looking down at their joined hands, Janice said, "You feel like you could use a stiff drink."

"It would not do any good," said Jim. Alcohol would have absolutely no affect on this Vulcan body.

Janice brushed a few stray bangs off her forehead. "Too bad you're not a girl friend. We could drown your sorrows in chocolate."

Jim blinked. "Chocolate?"

x x x x

Uhura searched for Spock all over the camp. He was nowhere to be found. She could feel Jim in her mind now, and how anguished he was, but didn't have anything left to offer him. She felt him trying to close the bond, and did not fight it. Only the barest glimmer of his consciousness remained with her.

At last as the sun was starting to set she headed back to the porta shelter she and Spock were calling home.

Inside she called, "Spock?" She wandered through the rooms. He wasn't there.

Falling down onto the couch, she put her head in her hands. She felt too empty even to cry. She didn't need the bond to know what Spock must have felt when he saw her in Jim's embrace, forehead to forehead.

She sighed. Behind her the door opened. She lifted her head. Spock stood silhouetted against the setting sun for a moment, and then he walked in.

"Spock." She licked her lips and stood up. What was she going to say? Nothing happened? Because that would be a lie. Something did happen, or almost happened, something terrible.

Swallowing, she said, "It wasn't what you think."

He looked down at the ground and walked past her to the kitchen. She watched him go over to the island counter. He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and went to the water dispenser, his chill demeanor freezing any explanation in her mouth.

"Spock." Saying his name again was all she could manage.

Without answering or looking at her, he put the glass of water to his lips and downed it like a shot. He smacked the glass down on the counter. "It doesn't matter...what it was." Standing stiffly, his hand still on the glass, his jaw clenched and he met her eyes. "I don't want to give up."

Nyota came around the counter to him, but when his body didn't relax she stopped two feet away.

"I don't want to give up," he said. "On us."

Nyota opened her mouth to speak but he raised his hand. "You know," Spock said, his voice almost cracking, "I have forgotten so much since I've come into this body, important things - definitions, dates, numbers. The date T'Pau recovered the Katric arc, the date of the publication of the first Book of Surak... I don't remember how old my mother was when she died, or details of her birthdays. My father and I celebrated her birthday every year, even though it was illogical, Nyota - and all I have are vague impressions.

"But I remember the day I knew I was in love with you."

Nyota's mouth dropped. Spock never said the word love. She knew he loved her, but in his Vulcan form he just couldn't say it...and since being a human he hadn't. She was so used to not hearing the word that she hadn't really noticed. But when he spoke it...she felt like she might cry.

"And," he said looking down, "I remember exactly how long it took me to convince you my feelings were real. That I had feelings. One hundred fifty four days, fifteen hours and twenty four minutes, that's how long it took."

Wanting to throw her arms around him, but put off by his still rigid posture, she just gently reached up and ran a hand down his arm instead.

Meeting her eyes suddenly he said, "I know why I remember...it's because I have thought of that day every day of my life since. Because the day I fell in love changed my life forever - for the good. But -"

Nyota couldn't control herself anymore. She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his stiff frame...and promptly lost control of her mouth. "You said you love me. Kirk was drowning, I saved him, that's all. I don't want him, I've never wanted him...You said you love me." Tears ran down her cheek onto his shoulder.

Spock's arms went up around her back. "I don't want to give up, Nyota."

"Me either, me either," Nyota said.

"I thought maybe - you're bonded to Kirk. Maybe...you'd prefer him, my old body." Spock's voice now was cracking.

"No, Baby, no."

A laugh cracked in Spock's chest.

He pushed her body away just enough so that she could look into his eyes - his bright blue eyes that were filled with tears. "You just called me Baby. You never call me Baby."

Nyota blinked through her tears. He hated it when she used nicknames. "I know it's illogical...it just slipped."

Pulling her close and kissing her cheek, he said, "I find I do not care, right now."

"You said you love me," Nyota said. Her legs were shaking.

Spock spun them around and pulled her into the living room. Chin against her shoulder, he said, "I do, I do," and squeezed her tighter.

Nyota pulled back and looked at his face - blue eyes, uncountable scars, slightly broken nose...and tears. "I love you too." How long had it been since she'd said those words?

Wiping his eyes quickly with his fingers he said. "Crying is inconvenient. I can hardly see you..." He smiled. "Sugar."

She blinked at the endearment. It was something Vulcan Spock would never do but it was okay. She didn't mind. He was her Spock.

Eyes still, wet, wide and moist he slid his hands down her waist. "Turnabout is fair -"

Unable to resist herself, she kissed him full on the lips. Without hesitation, he responded.

They kissed until they were out of breath. When they pulled away from each other they were both smiling.

"You're so warm," he said in a voice that sounded full of wonder.

"And you're so cold," she said, but it didn't bother her anymore, and it came out almost a laugh.

He kissed her again, a long, slow, luxurious kiss. His hands went to cradle her head, he massaged the back of her scalp in the way that he knew gave her shivers, and then he pulled his hands back through her long tresses, disengaging her pony tail as he did.

Nyota forgot everything. Time. Inhibitions. She was too filled with joy.

She barely had time to register what was happening when the door burst off its hinges and banged to the floor. A dark shadow lunged at Spock.

**A/N:**

**I tried to clarify the swap a bit in this chapter. Some people seem to think it's explained fine in chapter 5, others not. I know a lot of people read these things at work and have to skim…that chapter might clear up some things.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's hard to write convincing joy. Please leave a review...it's the only way fanfic authors get paid!**


	15. Relief

**Disclaimer: I don't own, I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom. Check out her latest, "What We Think We Know" in my faves – it's now complete!

**Relief**

Vulcan-Jim tried to catch Spock in a nerve pinch -

And missed. He caught Spock on the outer shoulder instead. Wincing, Spock spun around and caught Vulcan-Jim's hand. Twisting Jim's arm, Spock brought up his other hand to Jim's elbow as though prepared to break it.

Nyota blinked and opened the bond. She felt...like she might puke, or Jim might puke.

"You...will unhand her," said Jim, swaying on his feet.

"Captain," Spock said, "are you inebriated?"

"Aff...Afff...Affirmative. Just came over to ap...apologize."

Nyota stepped closer to Spock.

With a roar, Vulcan-Jim ripped his arm away from Spock, picked him up from the floor and barreled him against the wall.

His face twisting in pain over Jim's shoulder, Spock mouthed, "Hit him!"

"With what?" said Nyota. This was Spock's body he was asking her to hit - it wasn't as simple as knocking out Coleman.

"Anything!" Spock sputtered.

Nyota looked around frantically. The _asenoi _maybe? From the doorway came Janice's voice. "Nyota, catch!"

Nyota looked up just in time to see Janice launch a hypospray into the air. "It's a sedative!"

Nyota caught it and turned back to Jim and Spock a few paces away.

Spock bent his knees, brought his feet up to his waist and kicked Vulcan-Jim backwards towards her. Nyota jammed the hypospray into Vulcan-Jim's neck and pressed.

Nothing happened.

"Hypo him again!" gasped Spock, arms wrapped around his ribs.

Nyota hypoed him again and Vulcan-Jim crumpled to the ground at her feet, his eyes open and blinking up at her. The bond flickered to life. _If we ever get this fixed I am going to realize I did not let you have sex with my body and I am going to be so...so...so...I am so pissed._

With a sigh, Nyota kneeled down and hit him with the hypo one more time.

x x x x

Janice sat next to Nyota as she periodically hit Vulcan-Jim with the hypospray. Spock was being checked by the camp medic for potential broken ribs.

Running her hands through Vulcan-Jim's head, now on her lap, Janice said, "He kept saying over and over again that he had to apologize, but he wouldn't say for what..."

Nyota shook her head, "It was nothing - he didn't do anything wrong."

"...and he left," Janice said. "But I couldn't help feeling that something bad might happen. I really didn't know chocolate would have that effect on him. I thought that was a myth."

"No."

Vulcan - Jim's eyes flickered open. He looked up at Janice. "I think...I think...I may throw up on you."

Nyota hit him with the hypo, his eyes closed, and his head lulled to the side. Looking up at Janice she said, "It's kinder this way, trust me."

Janice blinked. And then the doctor's comm began to ring. Taking it out of her pocket and flicking it open, Janice, said, "This is Dr. Lester."

"We have guests...in orbit," said a disembodied male voice.

"Who?" said Janice her voice rising.

Nyota's body tensed. They were out in deep space. Who would come to visit them - not that Romulan captain Jim had ticked off six months ago, she hoped.

"Josef Friedmann on the Holo I," said the voice.

"What...no, that's a joke. What would one of the galaxy's richest men be doing here?"

Vulcan-Jim's eyes flickered open. "Uncle Josef...Spock's uncle...not really uncle...ugh...my head. Uhuraaaaa-"

Nyota hit him again with the hypo.

_Thank y- _Jim's eyelids slid closed.

"...and Ambassador Sarek is with him," said the voice. "Should I grant them permission to beam down?"

Jim groaned.

Looking down with a sigh, Janice said, "Sure. See if they have sedatives strong enough for Vulcans when they do."

She flipped her comm and said to Nyota, "Think we should move Jim to the -"

At that moment 5 figures began to materialize in the room: Sarek, Josef – tall, white haired, and bespeckled, a Vulcan woman Nyota vaguely recognized, perhaps from the bond, and two other unfamiliar Vulcans in medical garb. One held a tricorder and said crisply, "Chocolate poisoning." The other immediately rushed to Vulcan Jim's side and pulled a hypo out of a box.

Josef, Sarek and the Vulcan woman looked at Vulcan-Jim's body on the floor.

"Spock?" said Josef looking at the prone form.

"Over here," said Human-Spock.

There was a whoosh of air as the Vulcan medic administered the hypo. Vulcan-Jim groaned.

Josef shook his head and looked at Sarek, "Is there a Vulcan gene for landing in the midst of trouble? Because if there is, you and your son both got homozygous pairs."

Sarek said nothing, just looked down at Vulcan-Jim's body. The vaguely familiar Vulcan woman tilted her head and looked at Sarek.

**A/N:**

The cavalry is here. I'll try not to make it to _dues ex machina _as Notes says. Sorry this is so short...it_ felt _much longer when I was writing it.

If you're reading, and enjoying please leave a review!


	16. Charity

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom. Check out her conclusion to her amazing "What We Think We Know" in my faves if you haven't already.

**Charity**

Jim was sleeping. He knew he was sleeping, he could feel the state of dormancy his body was suspended in like a tangible entity; it sought to pull him down into complete unconsciousness. And he wanted to be unconsciousness because every time he came close to the surface of wakefulness, the events of the day before flashed through his mind. Pulling Uhura to him, forcing himself -

He let blackness pull him down.

x x x x

"Jim, you must wake up."

He recognized the voice. It was flat, expressionless.

No. He didn't have to wake up, actually. This mind had considerable control over _some_ things. He willed himself back to blackness.

And found himself not alone there.

The voice took form in the darkness. "So much like a human dream," Sarek said, eyeing the blackness. "But with more control. Fascinating."

Jim changed the dream, willed himself to be on the Enterprise, surrounded by his crew, safe.

But Sarek was still there. The Vulcan tilted his head. An emotion flashed to Jim. Concern.

"You are not dreaming of my presence," Sarek said. "We are in a meld. It is normal to sleep after a bout of chocolate poisoning, but you have slept too long. Under the circumstances it is not unethical - "

Jim was too agitated to care where he was that Sarek could meld with him. "Get out," he said, "Leave me alone."

Tilting his head, Sarek said, "You are unwell."

And the scene spun out of Jim's control. He was looking at his body, from the outside, his human body. He was in a bar; the Orion, Gaila, was a few bar stools away talking with a human girl. Jim didn't know Gaila. Yet.

"Come on, you know you want it!" said a Starfleet Cadet putting an arm around the Gaila's shoulder.

"Not now," said Gaila with a tight smile, dislodging the man.

"Oh, hooo! Orions are learning moves from Earth girls!" said the human man. "Jeffries, come over here! She's playing hard to get...maybe if it's the two of us..."

"No," said Gaila, turning sharply in her stool, "I am not playing at all."

The one called Jeffries moved to put a hand in Gaila's hair, but she smacked the hand before it could make contact.

"Why, you—" said Jeffries, his hand balling in a fist.

Striding forward, Jim's human self said, "Leave her alone." Had said. The bar was suddenly empty of everyone but Jim's human body frozen in place, Spock's body he now inhabited, and Sarek.

"That is the real me," said Jim, desperately looking at his old form. He was the good guy. Chivalrous. There were things he did not do, no matter what sort of rule breaker he was in other ways.

"Something has happened," Sarek said.

Jim tried to pull back, but his mind slipped and the whole horrible episode from the day before played before his eyes. He started to hyperventilate and to shiver.

"Come, let us go to some place safer," Sarek said. And the scene shifted. Jim and Sarek were in his old room on Earth in Iowa - Sarek had pushed him here, to some place that was familiar... And for a moment it was comfort, but then there was Frank, Jim's stepfather screaming at the door.

"Let us go some place else," Sarek said quickly.

And then Jim stood on red sands beneath a red sky at sunset. His body felt heavier. The air was dry and thin and it was good. Vulcan. This is where Sarek came for safety - a memory of a dead world.

He looked at the older Vulcan.

"In the end, Jim," Sarek said, "you did nothing. You controlled your emotions."

"Too late," said Jim.

"You are being illogical," Sarek said. "No harm was done."

"It was not me," said Jim.

Sarek nodded, "Indeed it was not. You must wake up. There is much to be done. You and Spock will lead Josef's team in analyzing the crystals, while Lieutenant Uhura leads the team translating data -"

"Josef's here?" said Jim. He'd met the trillionaire briefly at Spock and Uhura's wedding.

Josef was the founder of Holosuite, the makers of graphical interfaces for the Vulcan holo devices humans and other races of the galaxy were so fond of. He had other ventures that utilized Vulcan technology; Josef had an uncanny knowledge of what the Vulcan Science Academy had brewing before the general public did. Jim had a sneaking suspicion he knew how. He looked at Sarek; Sarek did not turn away, only raised an eyebrow and said, "We arrived 18 hours ago. You do not remember."

Jim tilted his head. "The last thing I remember is...chocolate."

"Josef is here with 200 Vulcan scientists from Holosuite," Sarek said.

With a fortune based on Vulcan tech, Josef also just happened to have one of the largest teams of Vulcan engineers and scientists outside of the VSA when the Fall of Vulcan occurred. But -  
"How?" Jim asked.

He felt something, a bit of embarrassment from Sarek. Jim decided not to ask.

"Thank you," said Sarek. "Now you must wake. If nothing else, to obtain nourishment."

Jim felt himself go cold at the thought of seeing Spock - or Uhura. "He will kill me," Jim said. If their positions were reversed, Jim would do the same.

"He has expressed no such desire," said Sarek.

Jim turned his eyes away. Uhura must not have told him. But sooner or later - if they switched bodies again, the memories would remain. Spock would know.

"Come," Sarek said. "Spock will benefit greatly in analyzing the crystal from the memories you hold in your present mind."

And of course, if Jim could help Spock and Uhura, he had to. "Right," he said. "Let's go."

x x x x

Jim blinked in the light as he and Sarek stepped out of the med shelter into Camus II's hot and humid early evening. From across the yard, Uhura came out of the "language lab" porta-shelter towards them. Smiling, she said, "There you are." He could feel her worry behind the smile.

Josef came out behind her. He nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose.

From another direction he heard familiar footsteps...his own. "Jim," said Spock, "you are awake. You should have known not to eat chocolate."

Jim couldn't bring himself to look Spock in the eye, but Spock walked past him to Josef.

"Your equipment is...perfect..." Spock said. He smacked one hand against another, "But you still haven't explained how you got permission to come here."

Sarek went a little green. Jim could guess how they got access.

Shrugging, Josef said, "The Federation's budget for xeneology is limited now. Most of their research funds go towards armaments."

"You gave them a bribe!" said Human-Spock. Obviously, his overly developed sense of "fair play" had transferred with his memories.

Sarek went the color of pea soup.

Suddenly feeling protective of the older Vulcan, Jim said, "The word you mean is _donation_."

From across the bond with Sarek there was a peculiar sensation. It might have translated as an embarrassed "_Errrr_..."

"Exactly," said Josef. "Sarek and I both offered the Federation Department of Xeneology something to show our interest in their work. And then let it be known that we'd want to come visit...with a few friends. It's fairly common for donors to be offered the opportunity - although it took a quite while -"

Uhura's eyebrows drew together. "200...is a few?"

Sarek took a deep breath. "We did not let it be known exactly many...friends...would be joining us, and we left with great haste. That was one reason we were unable to provide you with forewarning -"

"And we didn't want to get your hopes up," said Josef. He looked around and clapped his hands together, "It's all going to be worth it if this technology has the entertainment value I think it does."

Sarek took a breath. "But there will be questions from people who matter. I will not be able to stay on Camus II until we get this worked out. I must attend to..."

"Damage control," said Jim. He swallowed, suddenly apprehensive as to what laws Sarek may have broken - and he was just sad the elder Vulcan was leaving. Sarek's eyes met his own briefly. And then Josef began to talk. "Now, while Uhura leads the translation team and Spock and Jim lead the team analyzing the crystals, Dr. Lester will be leading the team doing the actual digs -"

x x x x

Three weeks, two days, twenty minutes, and forty-five seconds later, Jim stood with Uhura, Janice, Josef and T'Della - one of the Vulcan scientists who had been studying the crystals with Jim and Spock. They were at the top of an earthen ramp 1 meter from the room where the original 'awakening' had occurred.

The second room had been directly under the first, but a unique mineral compound had prevented the scanners from picking it up.

"We should limit the number of people in the chamber during the reversal," said T'Della. "But the process must be activated by a third party. Since the reversal crystal was broken when we found it, there will be additional dangers. Although I am reasonably confident in our reconstruction efforts, I feel the need to be that that third party."

Josef and Uhura nodded.

Jim felt oddly numb. He wanted his body back. At the same time, to return to his form meant Spock would know what had really happened at the quarry. So far there had been no words on the matter. The only explanation was that Uhura hadn't told him.

"Well," said Josef pushing up his glasses.

Janice grabbed Jim's hand. "Good luck," she said. He knew from the finger connection that she was anxious...and yet he felt an annoying compulsion to express just how illogical the concept of luck was. He beat it down. Taking a deep breath he squeezed her hand instead.

Spock walked over to Uhura and pressed his forehead to hers - and then Jim did feel something. A truly uncalled for desire to rip one of Spock's fragile human arms out. He stood stock still.

"I love you," said Spock.

"I love you, too," said Uhura.

Sweat prickled on the back of Jim's neck. He had no right to anger. Spock and Uhura had actually kept their physical contact to a minimum since Josef's arrival.

"Let us go, Spock," Jim said, quickly striding down the ramp.

He felt rather than saw Spock kiss Uhura quickly, and then heard his light human footsteps, and T'Della's heavier Vulcan steps, following him down the ramp.

Jim ducked to enter the small chamber. On all sides were the familiar octagonal shaped chambers - but unlike the other room these were almost completely filled with sediment. On the far wall was one octagonal chamber that had been carefully excavated. Outside of it was a crystal.

T'Della walked over and picked up the crystal. "Are you ready gentlemen?"

"Yes," they said in unison. Jim's world went black...and then he was lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. There were roots there poking through. He blinked. Turned to where Spock in his old body should be - and there was no one. He blinked again. Held a breath. Looked the other way - there was an unconscious Vulcan with T'Della hovering over him, fingers to his forehead.

"Odd..." she said.

Jim shot upright. "I'm me again..." He said holding his hands in front of him. "I'm me..."

There was no bond. His mind was mercifully free. He laughed. "It worked!"

From behind him he heard a light pair of footsteps.

"I am afraid that is not true," said Uhura's voice.

**A/N:**

If you read and enjoyed please review! It's the only way fan fiction authors get paid!


	17. Full Circle

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't profit.**

Special thanks to beta Notes from the Classroom. Check out her wonderful "What We Think We Know" if you haven't already!

**Full Circle**

Spinning around, Jim found himself face to face with Uhura. As her eyes met his, a frown passed over her features and her brows drew together.

"What is it, Uhura?" he asked.

"I am not Uhura," she said.

Jim scowled. "Who -"

"I am Spock," she said, putting her hands behind her back.

Jim turned to the body he had just recently been inhabiting. "Then who -"

The prone Vulcan body let out a groan.

"Nyota," said Spock - in a low certain voice as smooth as coffee.

Jim turned to her again. And blinked. There was a smile on her face.

"The transference crossed the bond," said T'Della. "Fascinating. Captain, I believe I know how this occurred and believe I can fix it with 99.73% certainty." She unsnapped a tricorder from her belt and began scanning Spock-Uhura in Spock's body. "However, we should not attempt anything until brain scans return to normal."

Sp- Uhura-in-a-Vulcan body pulled herself up onto her elbows. "What happened?" Her - his eyes met suddenly the human female, and hot, Spock. "Spock?"

"Yes," said Spock, an enigmatic smile still on her features.

"I believe you will have to remain in these bodies for at least two days," T'Della said. "For safety's sake."

"We will manage," said hot-human-female Spock. Jim blinked. The look she had on her face as she stared at her old form was absolutely predatory.

Vulcan-male-Uhura at least had the decency to flush the color of pea soup - but Jim was still certain he heard her-_him_ purring.

x x x x

Morning light was streaming in the window. Sitting upright in bed, Spock gave a luxurious stretch to well-used muscles. This mind wasn't at all good at quantifying weight, but if he had to say so he'd guess his arms were as light as a bird's wings. A tendril of worry uncoiled in his stomach. Could it be early onset of osteoporosis? Scowling, he checked Nyota's memories – McCoy's last bone density scan was normal for a human female. Hmm...maybe he'd convince the doctor to check again.

Spock stretched again and looked down to at his own form asleep at his side. With a small, delicate finger Spock traced a pointed ear - practically the only part of Nyota visible from beneath a heavy duvet. The room felt comfortably warm to Spock, but in his body Nyota would feel a chill.

Nyota did not stir at the touch of Spock's finger. Nor would she - _he_- for several hours.

Spock kissed the tip of the ear lightly. The last 30 hours had been...fascinating. Perhaps all the more poignant because they had not consummated their relationship when he'd inhabited Jim's body. But after the night Jim had broken in on them things had been better. The extra help provided by Josef's scientist had buoyed their spirits. And Spock had known that even if he didn't get his body back he and Nyota's relationship would survive.

The past few weeks when they weren't madly working they spent time together doing things they wouldn't do when Spock got his Vulcan body back: swimming in the quarry, eating chocolate, and drinking coffee spiced with cinammon. It had been like when they were dating again; and it was a happy time in it's own way for Spock and Nyota.

Spock sighed. All that Nyota had experienced was in his mind, and all that Jim had experienced and felt too - through the bond. Spock swallowed. The past weeks had not been good ones for Jim. It occurred to Spock that he had something he must do, and he'd probably never be able to broach the subject again.

Slipping out of bed, he paused to run his hands down his now much softer skin and curves. How did Nyota not fully appreciate this?

The impossible lightness of his body made Spock skip experimentally over to the dresser, bouncing in fascinating places. Rummaging through Nyota's clothes, he found her swim suit and was inspired.

Spock slipped on the suit and a simple dress, retrieved a towel and stepped out into the heat of Camus II's summer, just in time to see three forms materialize.

"Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Sulu" Spock said. "Good morning." The Enterprise had arrived the night before when they'd learned Spock's and Nyota's returning to their own forms was all but assured.

McCoy smiled, "Good morning Lieu -" He scowled. "Are you still, Spock?"

"Yes," said Spock, raising an eyebrow - Nyota's body was very good at that. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was here to see Jim, actually," said McCoy.

Spock tilted his head. That would be problematic. He sifted through some of Nyota's memories and realized he knew exactly how to handle the situation. Strolling up very close to McCoy he said, "Leonard, I have some business to discuss with the Captain this morning." He was about to say 'of a private nature,' but then simply put a hand on McCoy's sleeve instead.

Looking down at his wrist, McCoy stuttered, "Well, don't let me stop you. I can wait."

Spock's new face beamed. Nyota's mind was just as facile at reading emotions and communicating through touch as Kirk's had been.

"Thank you, Leonard." Realizing he had not addressed Scotty or Sulu, Spock turned to them and said, "How did you like serving under Number One?"

"Oh, I dinna like it, dinna like it all," said Scotty. "She got us embroiled in a game of chicken with a Klingon freighter. Now I ask you, is that any way to treat a lady like the Enterprise?"

"I think I'm in love," said Sulu, eyes looking slightly dazed.

Trying to stifle a smirk, Spock said, "All right, see you later then," and headed in the direction of Kirk's porta-shelter. He was going up the steps when Number One emerged from the door. She tilted her head in Spock's direction. "Shame you missed the party."

Spock blinked as Number One strode past her. She was about to knock on the door when it swung open again, this time filled with a slightly disheveled looking Dr. Lester.

Putting in an earring she said, "Oh, hi, Uhur-, I mean Spock. Excuse me I'm running late."

Spock stepped back as the red-headed woman passed her in a whirlwind, and then peaked in the slightly ajar door. "Jim?"

x x x x

"I like you," said Jim, stealing a kiss from Janice as she leaned over him. He was sitting in bed. He could hear Number One in the kitchen - it sounded like she was getting a drink. Number One's invitation to the previous night's activities had been Janice's idea.

Sighing, Jim said, "Have I told you how much I like you?"

"You've mentioned it," said Janice leaning over him, trying to put in an earring. "I have to go."

Jim allowed himself a petulant sigh. "I still like you. Can I invite you for a dinner of replicated protein and carbs on the Enterprise before we leave?"

"Janice, Captain - I have to go," said Number One peeking in the door frame. Winking at Janice, she said, "Thanks again." And then she disappeared.

Smiling, Janice leaned over and kissed him again. "Only if it's on the observation deck."

"Done," said Jim.

The door slammed.

"I have got to go, too!" said Janice, standing up, not even bothering to put in her second earring.

"See you later," and then she bolted from the room. Jim heard the door swing open.

Sighing, Jim got out of bed and pulled on a pair of standard issued sweats. Without bothering to put on a shirt, he walked out to the kitchen, tying the pant's the drawstring as he went.

"Jim?" said a feminine voice.

Blinking, he looked up. Uhura's face was in the slightly ajar door.

Ordinarily he would have said something like, "Shame you missed the party." But after all that had happened, and the fact that wasn't Uhura, it was Spock; and Spock probably justifiably wanted to kill him -

He looked down at his waist. Of all the times to be caught with his pants down. He hitched the drawstring a little tighter. "Um, Spock, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes," said Spock-now-in-Uhura's-beautiful body.

And then Jim said something he would never ordinarily say in the presence of a beautiful woman. "Ummm...let me just put on a shirt."

Turning quickly he went back to the bedroom. When he returned Spock had already invited hims-herself in.

"Captain," said Spock.

"Commander," said Jim.

"Jim..." said Spock.

"Spock," said Jim.

They stared at each other. Jim swallowed. He'd half expected, 'If you ever lay a hand on her again I will finish what I started on the bridge.' But hot-human...wait, don't think of him...her...like that. Human-female-Uhura-Spock just looked...confused.

"Where is Nyota?" said Jim just to break the silence.

"She discovered some chocolate I had procured when I was in your form," said Human-female-Spock. "She- he is taking a little nap now."

Remembering his experience, Jim rubbed the back of his neck. He bet she was sleeping.

"Um..." Jim said, "Can I help you with something?"

"I want to go swimming," said Spock. "Seeing as I am now in possession of new buoyant parts." Giving a little hop he looked down at said buoyant parts.

"Don't rub it in," said Jim before he could contain himself.

Looking up, Spock blinked. "Oh, excuse me. I am still finding the experience really very fascinating."

"I'm sure you are," said Jim. Had a little bit of jealousy worked its way into his tone?

Spock tilted his head. "From the company you were keeping last night, it appears you've been having - fascinating, experiences as well."

Was this Spock guy talk coming from most-certainly-not-a-guy-Spock-in-Uhura's body?

"Would you care to join me for my swim?" said Human-Female-Spock.

And the whole episode at the quarry came back to Jim. He felt his face slacken. His body went cold.

Spock took a step closer. "You and Nyota often swim together in the lap pool on the Enterprise."

Swallowing, Jim said, "Spock, what happened in the quarry -"

He looked down at he floor. What could he say? I fucked up? I have never regretted anything in as much in my whole life? I'm sorry? It all seemed hollow.

"What happened in the quarry was not you," said Spock.

Jim put his hands on his hips, sucked in a breath and bit his bottom lip. A light weight fell on his upper arm.

He looked to the weight. A small elegant hand was there. Looking up, wide expressive eyes met his.

"Jim. I know us all...well. What happened wasn't you."

Jim looked back at the hand. Spock did not pull it away. This was, he realized, perhaps the last gesture of empathy he would receive from Spock. And the last they would speak of this subject - when he returned to his Vulcan body, on this subject, Spock would be mute.

Which didn't mean he didn't care.

They did know each other, the good and the ill, very well now.

Pulling his-her hand away, Spock said, "I have it on good authority, even with extra buoyant parts,

it is foolish to swim alone."

It was an olive branch, Jim realized. A show of trust. Good and ill, he was accepted. He could do no less.

Jim nodded. "I'll get my towel."

**FIN:**

Notes' said she can't envision Kirk sharing Janice with anyone - I think that might be true if he decided they were going to have a permanent relationship.

I did have an idea of Sarek inviting Jim to a family function after this, but I wasn't sure when to work it in...and the ending felt happy and right to me exactly where it is, more happy might have gotten saccharine.

Writing this in the time allotted was quite challenging. Thanks for everyone who hung - extra thanks to those who've been leaving reviews!


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